Saiyan in Brockton (Self-Insert)
by DesertChocolate
Summary: A man wakes in Earth Bet with the body of a Saiyan, and is immediately crushed by a boulder thrown by a false angel. Gonna need a Senzu for that one...
1. Chapter 1

**_February 26_** ** _th_** ** _, 2011_**

I woke in a city. It took me a while to figure that out. Rocks were falling from the skies above. The air smelled of blood, that coppery scent like a battery on your tongue.

I was standing when I woke. I looked up, feeling as refreshed as though I hadn't slept at all. And as I stood there, I gaped at the sight before me.

People flying in the air, like bees in a miniature ruined city, dressed in dozens of colors. They were all attacking something.

An angel. A many winged angel. Naked as the day is long, fifteen feet in height, with beautiful long white hair. Her eyes were a cold gray as the people flew about her.

The whole thing was taking place a few hundred feet away as I stood in a pair of pajamas and my slippers, gaping at the sight before me.

That is what got me. I acted like a normal man seeing a group of people attacking an angel while all of them were flying.

As I watched, the bitch with wings looked over at me. I say bitch, because I could not think of the word 'angel' without feeling sick, looking at that face. Alien. Remote. Cold.

That face would haunt my nightmares, as she lifted her hand contemptuously.

The boulder did the rest.

I was lucky. Damn lucky. The rock had been enough to severally injure me, leave me in the hospital for weeks. I was rescued after I'd been knocked unconscious by someone on the scene, and sent to a refugee center.

One of the few to survive the Simurgh's attack on Canberra, Australia. The only one to escape as soon as possible.

I'd woken in the hospital, pain in every part of me. A bit of testing revealed I'd broken my arm, ribs, and jaw. I had bruises on my upper thigh, whole chest, and neck.

I rose up, groaning in pain, and looked at the door. I was one of many people in a tent. Nurses and doctors were milling about to patients on cots, all of them as comatose as I had been.

Lucky I fought off the chemicals they'd used to put me under far faster than a natural human should.

I was about to sigh in relief. I was from California after all. Maybe the big one had finally hit, and an earthquake had dropped my house on me. A medication induced fantasy. That had to be it, right?

That's when I felt something under my back. At my tailbone, wiggling around.

I froze. New muscles clenched at my back. A fur covered object went around my waist, acting like a belt.

I could barely think. I could barely breathe. But I knew I had to do something.

Because if what was at my waist was real, then so might the rest.

I felt a bit of excitement, even through the pain and fear.

I forced it down. I moved my eyes. Both sides of the tent had a man looking over the proceeding. Straight backed. Armored in something out of the Halo franchise. And carrying some mean damn looking guns.

I had to leave. Somehow, I felt much clearer through the pain and fear than I usually would. The thought that made me want to leave was simple.

I was a survivor of a **Simurgh** attack. Behemoth, Leviathan, survivors of those things would get a pass.

Behemoth boiled people alive while smashing him with his fists. Leviathan drowned people while slicing them apart.

Live from one of them? You poor child, what a survivor, one of the proud few.

A Simurgh survivor?

Well she had a penchant for turning most sane human beings into insane sociopaths. So stay here you damned time-bomb, we need to make sure you aren't about to slaughter a kindergarten, so get ready for a long damn stay.

Not to mention that my new attachment marked me as an obvious cape. One more mark in favor of locking me up.

A part of me screamed in abject at the thought of being locked up, pent up like some damn animal, like I wasn't-

The furry 'belt' tightened slightly. I sighed as softly as I could, trying to relax.

Okay. Should I even leave? What if I was crazy? Maybe I deserved to stay? After all, I could just be a normal member of this universe who had gone mad. This universe had contact with universes with Star Wars and DC, right? Hell, I barely knew anything about Worm. I was shocked when I learned there were more Endbringers than the first three.

But how could I know that was true? How could I…

No. Maybe I was insane. But if I was, I didn't want to stay anyways. If what I suspected about myself was true, even the slightest bit, I had to go.

It was agonizing, laying there for the next five hours. The pain medication had long since faded, and every breath was agony. I lied as still as possible, both to limit the pain and to appear to be unconscious. My eyes opened in fleeting glances, only to scan the room.

I marked each guard. I tracked the shifts as best I could. Each second was counted. One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi. I was relying on a damn childish way of tracking time to plan an escape.

I stopped my laugh before a guard looked over at me.

Finally, I took my chance. I brace myself for the pain. According to my timing, and mostly on the guards checking their watches…

One walked the length of the tent to join his partner, sending a radio message. They walked off. Even as they did, the next guard's shadows could be seen through the tent walls. Seconds of window. A doctor was facing me, working on another man. I didn't hold my breath or tense. I needed air and fluid motion for this.

I did however, slowly reach for my IV.

She turned away.

Agony exploded through me as I moved as smoothly as I could. I removed the IV needle, grabbing the bag off its stand. I'd practiced the motion as much as I could in my head, trying to account for as much as I could. I walked around the doctor as her back was turned. As the next guards came through one door, I slipped out the other.

It was dead of night. I removed my hospital gown, depending on my dusky skin to camouflage me in the shadows better than a blinding white gown. I looked down briefly at my now naked body.

A furry monkey's tail, wrapped around my waist like a belt.

I shuddered. Then I sprinted into the shadows, and into the night.

 ** _February 27_** ** _th_** ** _, 2011_**

Canberra had been shut down. The former capitol of Australia. A graveyard.

I didn't mind that too much, other than a minor morbid wish to see my arrival site.

I was in Brockton Bay. No wait. Brockton Bay. There were signs.

Escaping from my tent in the cover of darkness had brought me to a field full of other tents. A refugee center. I managed to steal some pants from a donation box among donation boxes. I felt bad about it, but hell, dude from another dimension, new tail, survived a mini-Kaiju as well? I deserved the pants too I think.

Still felt guilty.

I immediately ran into the night while cradling my broken arm in its cast, trying to be as stealthy as possible. Luckily things weren't as defended as the refugees were arriving, and I made my escape by hoping a fence.

Which meant wonderful, wonderful pain.

Feeling thirsty, I ripped open the IV bag I'd stolen and sucked down whatever was in it. Tasted like water, but I'm not a doctor, so it could have been morphing. Fuck it though, I've got a tale, like a little drug overdose will be any worse.

I was feeling pretty fatalistic at that point.

I was wondering through the street of one of the worst cities in fiction that was not literally being devoured by eldritch beings, and I gave it a week before that happened, and I was wounded, hurt, and probably a Saiyan.

"Saiyan." I mumbled as I wearily strolled down an alley way, keeping to the shadows. "Hope so. Better than any other option."

Seriously though, why drop a random human in the middle of Worm and give them Saiyan blood? Why just drop a real Saiyan?

Like Goku?

"Comes in. Happy go lucky…" I giggled. "Then bam! The Granddaddy of Power-ups starts popping monsters."

Or Vegeta. See Jack Slash try to manipulate the man who fought against everything and everyone that came his way for the sheer hell of it. Vegeta wouldn't have been hit by Simurgh. He'd have torn her wings off and had her kneeling before him.

"Do you feel _fear_ Endbringer?" I growled in, what I assumed was, an excellent rendition of his voice. I giggled again, then tried to focus once more.

Okay, enough of that. Brockton Bay. City of A-holes. I'm going to avoid getting mugged in this back-alley damn it.

Granted, walking around in the dark in just a pair of pants was asking for it, but still…

Yeah, probably a good time to leave.

Maybe… hospital?

No, fuck that. I knew Panacea was one of the many broken birds of this universe, and simply waiting around the hospital could lead to me getting insta-healed, as fucked up as it was. But I had no records, and showing up that way after an Endbringer attack that usually lead to nutjobs was madness.

Granted, I was probably wrong somehow. Dammit, why didn't I read the books rather than resorting to fanfics? All my knowledge was half-assed, brought from a distillation of sources, all of whom only agreed about Taylo-

I stopped.

…Taylor. I could help her out. Even I didn't know much, I knew what was coming! I could… do nothing. Who gives a damn if I have a tail? Super-strength and speed doesn't matter much in a universe chock-full of it, never mind that I didn't even know if I had that…

Come to think of it.

I reached for a wall. With a careful press against the brick wall of the alley, I began to squeeze. Slowly, slowly, my fingers pressed. Then the red stone gave way. Like old playdoh, it was broken by my grip, with little to no issue.

I stopped, sighing.

Okay then. What next?

My stomach grumbled. And suddenly it was like my brain turned off.

Food. Food. FoooooooOOOOOOOO-

I walked through the streets, stomach growling like a roaring beast of the depths, and tried not to pass out.

 ** _February 28_** ** _th_** ** _,_** ** __** ** _2011_**

I slept in a warm alcove. I think my new body was definitely Saiyan, because the cold night that was pretty typical in East Coast cities didn't affect me as much as usual.

Then again, it could have been the shock.

Whatever the case, when I woke up, it was just before morning. The sun was rising far in the distance. I was still shirtless, and shoeless. And I still had my injuries.

I rolled onto my back, feeling the asphalt beneath my skin. I stared up at the sky, hearing cars beginning to drive through the city.

I had to work things out. Had to plan. Maybe I was crazy, but I couldn't simply lie down because of that. I had to survive.

I had super-strength, and a monkey tail. Those were cool. But what was more important was food, money, shelter. I had to find work. And I knew that was an issue.

Whoever had decided to rescue me from Canberra to drop me off in Brockton had a sense of humor. Merchants, Empire 88, ABB. This place was on the damn brink. It could be saved. With a few miracles. But this world was one where the good guys were losing and had been losing for decades. What a shit town to make a living. Especially considering my current homelessness.

But maybe I could make it work for me? I knew at least one man who was fighting for the little guy.

Danny Hebert was famous among Worm fans for being an okay guy. At least, in the fanfics.

I rubbed a hand through my hair, feeling my tail tighten at my waist, and sighed sadly. This was another problem. I had no idea how good my information was. I could reasonably say some things, sure. Dragon was secretly an AI, Scion was really an Endbringer, and Taylor had a penchant for escalation. Those were for sure.

But was Lisa a smarmy kid trying to survive, or secretly a stone cold killer? Were Emma and Sophie hardcore villains, or worth saving? Those were things that people seemed to swing either way on. What was true? What could I depend on here?

And then there was me. I just wanted to survive. I wanted to go home… well, I didn't want to go home. Home was shit. But it had my stuff. I had no idea if I really was a Saiyan. The tail and super-strength said yes, but a Saiyan had a whole lot more things marking it out.

Like Super Saiyan… oh shit, how cool would it be to go Super Saiyan!

"Eeeeeeeee-Ah!"

I stopped my nerd squeal midway when my broken arm bounced slightly, turning it into a painful yelp.

At the very least I was completely awake now.

Anyways, in all the fanfiction I've read, Daniel Hebert is a nice guy. Head of the Dockworkers Union, enemy of the Merchants, father of the mighty Escalation Woman. Maybe he would appreciate a super strong dude backing up his crew?

It was a dumb hope. I didn't know my around Brockton. I was lucky enough not to have been killed in my sleep by a knife (Wait, was I bulletproof?) so putting all my hopes on a guy who was himself in trouble, because apparently the docks got shut down a while back, was stupid.

But it was a plan. A dumb plan is sometimes better than just standing still and hoping. Usually is.

I scrambled to my feet and started walking. I needed to get healed first.

And damn it all, why are Saiyans always so damn hungry!?

Walking down the street while your stomach growls in a way impossible for any mortal being is a hell of a way to drag attention. I asked a few people to help me out with directions, only to get rebuffed, even having one guy contemptuously give me a dollar bill and tell me not to use it on beer. All I'd asked him was where the nearest free clinic or hospital was.

I took the money though. Like I was in any position to turn it down.

Later, after an extremely cheap hot dog from a nice guy, I managed to get directions from a kind couple. I got to a free clinic.

It was basically just a big rectangular van with a giant red cross on it and some steps leading up to the door. I was hoping to just get a double check on my wounds, see if I'd aggravated anything, and then rush out.

It only had one doctor running it though, as apparently everyone else was helping with the refugee camp. It was a long line I found myself in. I kept my head down, trying not to draw attention. I was one of many in a line of homeless and poor, but I was also shirtless.

I felt embarrassed. I felt like shit. I had been in some low points in my life. But now, in a superhuman body, I was worse off than I ever had been. Everything I needed to make a place in this world required the basics. I couldn't even move without screaming. God help me.

I still planned to find Daniel, and try to hide from the PRT so they wouldn't end up dragging me into the cesspool of politics the Golden Path was a part of. But what the fuck kind of plan was that? What the hell could I-?

I was interrupted from my dark thoughts when someone tapped me on the shoulder. The line was moving apparently. I looked up to step forward, only to realize nothing had changed.

"What-?" I turned. An older man and young girl stood there, smiling. They had backpacks on their shoulders, and their clothes, though well-maintained, were clearly old, with some patches. "Oh. I'm sorry, did you need help with something?"

The old man's eyes seemed to sparkle at that, and he chuckled. "Well that's a hell of a thing to ask, considering how you're doing." He nodded at my arm, his smile turning to a concerned frown. "Looks like you've been through the ringer. You get beat up before or after the cast was put on?"

I smiled back at him, looking over at the young girl, who gave me a shy smile once more. "Before. Going to have to give a bad review to that restaurant I think."

The sheer ridiculousness of my comment made them flash grins. The older man held something out to me. I looked at it.

A shirt.

"Here." He gestured it forward. "You could use it."

I was shocked. I reached out, slowly. It was black, a bit beat up. "R-…Really?"

I know, it seems odd I'd be so overwhelmed. But I'd been treated like shit for the past two hours.

"You look you need it." The girl blushed a bit when I looked over at her. "Take it."

"T…Thank you so much. Whoa…" Still flabbergasted, I gently took the shirt.

I felt more grateful than you can believe unless you've had the same thing happen. I put it on carefully, wincing as I jostled my arm. The shirt was a little small, but it let me hide my tail, which looked like an odd belt the whole while. It fit well otherwise. I assumed it was the man's.

"My name's Mahmoud by the way." I told the pair.

"Eddie." The older man nodded to the girl. "This is my daughter, Sammy."

"Hi." Sammy said.

Just then, I felt a bit of movement. I turned to see the line moving. Moving pretty fast actually.

"Huh. That's weird." I noted.

Eddie grinned. "Must be new to this."

I turned to look at him. "What? What's going on?"

He simply smiled wider. A look at Sammy got me a blush and quick turn of her head.

Getting no answers from them, I turned back to look forward.

With this new pace, I was soon at the door in ten minutes. The guy before me left the little free clinic trailer with a wide grin as he went down the steps, almost insanely joyful. What was going on?

I looked over at the father-daughter duo, who shared one of those looks only two people sharing a secret could.

"Go on in kid. Your day is getting a whole lot better."

Still confused, I stepped inside.

The door shut behind me. A woman with a clipboard was smiling. Her hair was mess, she was wearing a wrinkled blouse and skirt under a white coat, and her eyes had dark shadows beneath them. Despite that, she looked like she had gotten a second wind or something.

"Hello there!" She waved me into the hallway she was standing in. "Come in! We'll get you out of here and healed in a jiffy!"

"That's… confident of you." I said. I was feeling like something obvious was slamming me over the head, but I was too hungry and hurt to figure it out.

I followed her, feeling the linoleum beneath my bare feet. When we got to the um… the room where all the hospital things happen? Observation room? Surgery room?

Whatever.

When we got there, someone was waiting. She was dressed in a hooded white robe with a red cross on the front and back. Her lower face was covered in a red scarf, leaving only her eyes.

I knew who she was. That was why I looked at her eyes. I focused on them.

She was tired. So tired. Maybe I was projecting, maybe I was guessing, maybe it was just my Meta knowledge.

But even then, I felt like this girl was piling a ton of weight on her body.

"Good afternoon." She said, eyes crinkling as she presumably smiled under her scarf. "I'm Panacea. I'm here to help."

Of course. Of course the one clinic I go to gets a visit from her. Why not? Why the hell not? Coincidence, not coincidence, who cares? It was happening, and that was that.

"Can you leave?" I said that to the doctor. My eyes never left Panacea. I stared at her, my mind screaming.

"…I don't think that's a good idea."

When I looked over at the doctor, she was staring at me cautiously. I realized how things looked. Shoeless dude walks into a clinic, stares at superhero, and demands a person to leave.

A look at Panacea showed her eyes were no longer crinkled. Her hand had drifted towards a bag nearby. A weapon? Or a phone? Was she going to call her sister?

Maybe I should let her. Glory Girl was powerful after all, and dominating her in my wounded form would-

The fudge?

I shook my head, trying to push down the eagerness for violence, my tail stiffening. Seriously, having a tail is odd as hell man.

"Sorry." I sat down on a crappy plastic chair, rubbing my hair. "I-I just have to say something, and I'd like it if only she hears this."

The doctor stared at me, her eyes impressively hard. I admired that.

"Panacea, can you take out your phone?" I said. "You can call your sister, let her know some creepy guy is here and asking to speak with you for a moment. But I really want to say something, and I don't think you want other people here."

I tried to be as sincere as possible. I had something to say. Something I knew had to be said.

Both woman stared at me. I prayed silently. I fell back against my chair, just waiting.

"It'll be okay Ms. Ward." Panacea finally declared.

The doctor gave Panacea a surprised look. "Are you sure?"

"No." Panacea looked at me carefully. "That's why I'm going to call my sister."

The doctor nodded. Benefit of not having a secret identity, everyone knew when your sister was Alexandria-lite.

I ignored the need to fight someone again as best I could, but had to grit my teeth and close my eyes. It was that anger at nothing, that eagerness to move, that feeling in your chest, like wanting to eat, have sex, and scream all at the same time.

When I opened them again, Panacea was on the phone.

"Hey Vicky." From the minute I heard the warmth in her voice, I knew the girl had it bad. Didn't need meta-knowledge to know that.

Or maybe I did? I never had meta-knowledge before.

"I'm at the free clinic near…" She winced as a slightly high-pitched voice came from her phone. She seemed to shrink in on herself, her voice coming out softer. "I know, but I had to help."

Puppies getting kicked had less of an effect on me than this. I had to fight the urge to beat my chest in a manly manner and go beat whatever was hurting her with a big stick.

Not literally of course, as that stick would probably get shoved up my ass by an angry blonde.

"Listen, there's a weird," She gave me an apologetic look. "Guy here. He says he wants to talk to me in private. But he says I can call you to let you know where I am so you can help in case he does something weird."

She blinked, then pulled her phone from her ear to look at it. "She uh… she hung up."

Fudge. Glory Girl is flying to rescue her sister from me. Uber violent Glory Girl.

Wait, this is serious. It requires serious language.

Fuck.

"Well I'm about to get my ass-kicked, so here is what I'm going to say before Glory Girl takes my head off."

"She wouldn't do that!" The mousy young woman said in protest.

I did not scoff.

I relaxed my tail, let it release from under my shirt. She stepped back, startled. I waved the furry thing at her with a wan smile. "I'm not sure how human I am anymore. Fair warning."

Somehow she didn't look as freaked about the tail as I thought she would.

"So you're a Parahuman?" She looked at the tail as I swung it back and forth.

"That's something I'd like you to check." I sighed. "I don't know what has changed about me. I wanted a doctor to take a look. See if I'm even human anymore."

"…okay." She seemed intrigued, almost excited. Leaning forward, she pressed her hand to the back of mine. I didn't move from my seat, simply watching her.

Her eyes widened. She frowned under her mask, and her eyes narrowed just a bit. Then they widened again.

What I wouldn't do for an Interlude to know what the hell she was thinking.

Finally she nodded. "You… aren't completely human anymore. There's some things I recognize. All your organs and everything are the same shape. But you have the same signatures I've seen in some Brutes. Your skin is tougher than most humans. Your muscles are denser. And there's something…" She frowned, her fingers moving to wrap around my wrist. "Almost… deeper. Something in your DNA…"

She seemed to shake off whatever she was thinking. "Here. Let me," Suddenly, painlessly, I felt parts of my body shift. My arm wiggled just a bit, an uncomfortable feeling, and warmth came from my bruises.

Then came the power, like getting an injection of caffeine laced with adrenaline.

If anything she was more shocked than I was. She stared at me.

"You… you just became stronger."

I didn't need her to tell me that. I could feel it. With Panacea's healing, it was like something had been unlocked. Everything inside me felt more. It was a sort of loopy feeling actually. After spending the past few hours in a lethargic state, suddenly being at one hundred percent and beyond was freaking amazing!

"Whoa!" I stood up, marveling at the lack of pain that followed the motion, and lifted my formerly broken arm. With a single bend, the cast around it shattered into chunks. I brushed them off, grinning like crazy. "Oh that is just cool!"

I looked at Panacea, bouncing in place. "Thanks!"

"Uh… no problem." She was back to her more nervous self, almost like my exuberance at being healed was making her feel a bit overwhelmed. "What are you going to do next?"

"Go to Disneyland." At her blank look I sighed. "Before your time. Anyways, I think I'll run for it before your sister comes." I winced when I realized something, thanks to the lack of pain fogging my thoughts. "Uh, just a thought. You'll probably be in trouble. Sorry about that."

"What?" She cocked her head. "Why? What's going to happen?"

I rubbed my head. "Well uh… you just healed a Parahuman. One with unknown powers." I coughed. "I mean, I'm not a bad guy or anything, I'm just saying that your sister might get mad about that."

I wish I'd kept my mouth shut. She winced heavily, then looked down at the ground. I guess maybe the fact I was so obviously injured had made her willing to ignore it, but having me mention it…

As far as I knew, Parahuman's were really weird in the scale of superpowers in the multiverse. Their abilities were really exotic in style, with people like Hookwolf and… that mud guy from the Merchants (Muck?) being good examples of the sheer weirdness of Parahuman powers. Which meant people had to be careful around them. What if I'd had a Master power, and managed to control Panacea with a touch?

Or worse. I remembered something about a woman named Noelle having an encounter with Amy. It apparently did not end well.

"Thank you." I calmed down, pushing down the raw emotions that sudden power was giving me, smiling softly. "You're a good kid. I mean… maybe you should hear this more often. But you really are a good kid."

She didn't react too much to me saying that, but I was okay with that. I just felt it needed to be said.

I turned to walk towards the door. When I opened it, the doctor was there. From the way she'd been hurriedly stepping away I assumed she'd been listening at the door. No big deal. I had no identity in this world to be revealed after all.

"See ya later." I said in passing. She gave me a hesitant wave as I walked by and opened the door to leave. I waved at the father daughter pair, my tail wagging behind me as I left, then ran away with my full speed and ignored the shocked looks they gave me.

I sincerely hoped the tail scared them off. It would hurt. They were nice. But people who were that nice did not deserve to get dragged into whatever was next to me.

A Saiyan running around a world of superhumans. Not exactly the kind of person any normal person could around with. Barring superpowers or Batman-level skills of course.

Maybe I'd look them up later. Make sure they were safe.

In the meantime, as the sound of what I could only assume was a blonde powerhouse gliding down towards the trailer hit my ears, I ran into the night.

Running after about two days of being broken would probably have been awesome any other time. But doing it when you've just gotten superpowers, and then had a _boost_ to those powers?

I ran faster than I ever have, my bare feet shattering concrete with ease. I leaped the height of buildings.

I felt like the freaking Hulk!

"Woooohoooo!" I roared out as I leaped across a busy street, ignoring the beeping cars as I flew through the air.

I slammed into a four story building, digging my fingers and toes into the brick. I scrambled up, reaching the top in seconds. Soon I was standing there, breathing deeply and grinning like mad.

I felt great. Amazing. Powerful. For once since I got here, for once in a long time, I felt strong.

"Help!" Someone screamed. A man, scared, fighting.

I spun my head around. Someone… a few buildings away or so? Screaming in Brockton. Fuuuudge.

Go or… damn it, why can't I be like Vegeta? Hell, even Goku would have only gone if there was the chance of a fight.

…Wait. Screaming for help meant a fight. Meant a chance to test my powers. To be a warrior.

I was leaping into the air before I even thought about it fully. My adrenaline, already kicked into gear by the brief run earlier, was pumping.

As I got to the building closest to the scream, which had petered out into pathetic moans, I dived feet first into an alley after making sure nothing was under me. I crashed into the ground like a rocket, two holes a few inches deep being created by my feet.

In front of me were three people. One was a guy in reasonably nice clothes. In his teens maybe. He had been beaten up, and was laying on the floor in a daze. The other two were just… ew.

Nasty looking didn't cover it. Ragged and dirty clothes, oily hair, and track needles on the arms. They had a needle out, obviously about to inject the young boy.

"Merchants." I said softly.

"Cape!" One of them, with a yellow streak on his face, reached for a **_gun_**.

Shit. Able to pierce concrete without a hint of pain is not the same as being bulletproof.

I rushed forward, trying to get to him before he could fire. He panicked at my speed, and reflexively fired. Pain flashed across my chest, like getting punched. I roared, my tail snapping in the air, and a dark anger like nothing I've ever felt before filled me.

I grabbed Yellow Streak's wrist and squeezed. The feel of his bones snapping under my palm was ecstasy, only matched by the sound of his scream for how much pleasure I took in it. A sickening grin slowly split my face. Yellow Streak fell, dropping his gun as he screamed. I caught his gun as he fell and let go of his wrist. Then, as the Merchants and their victim stared at me, I took the gun in both hands, and squeezed.

Black metal groaned and bent under my hands as the three before me stared in shock. I released the gun. It clattered to the floor in a chunk of steel.

"Let him go." I growled. My anger was still boiling, barely controlled. "Or I'll eat you."

My tail snapped behind me, cracking the air like a whip.

The two Merchants ran. I felt part of me want to chase them down. To break their limbs, feel them scream before I killed them like animals.

I growled like an animal as I stared at the retreating backs of those men, then looked over at the teen. "You okay brat?"

He stared at me with one of his eyes closed shut from the swelling. "Uh… yeah, y-yeah I am." He sounded almost surprised.

"Can you stand and walk?" The words came out a little rougher than I expected.

"Y-Yes." He scrambled to his feet, using the wall behind him as support. He stared at me. He was black, his hair cropped short. He had a slightly chubby face and acne, the mark of someone not quite through puberty.

"Good. Where's your neighborhood? Is it nearby?" I asked.

He looked confused.

Apparently it was. And despite part of me screaming that helping weaklings was not worth it, I followed him from the rooftops to keep him safe. He walked with frustrating slowness, but that was fine with me. Gave me more time to think.

Apparently my new Saiyan body also came with Saiyan rage and mentality. Enough that I'd been willing to kill. It was easy enough to ignore, but if the Merchants had actually been anything but pathetic, I would have gone for it.

So. Fully healed now. But I needed things. Food was a big one. I was hungry as hell, and tempted to run to the nearest supermarket after hours and simply rip out the doors to chow down.

I also needed to train. Getting stronger, learning martial arts, pushing myself. All those things were a big requirement if I wanted to not die.

In the end, every problem I had came down to money. I couldn't do anything in this world, against Coil, against the Endbringers, against the Slaughterhouse Nine, against Scion. How the hell was I going to do this?

As the young man I'd saved entered his apartment building, I hopped away into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a while since fighting the Merchants. I had no idea how long it had been, no watch to keep track of the time, but I'd gotten to the Boat Graveyard. The whole place had a strange feeling to it, something like being at both a beach and a junkyard. Rusted metal everywhere, sea salt filling the air with a briny scent, trash everywhere in the form of wrappers and old plastic or glass bottles, and a cold wind blowing through my hair as I stood on one of the few places in the sand that wasn't sharp metal or big rocks.

The first thing I'd done when I got to the beach was look at my reflection in the water. I looked… different. My hair was now a bit spikier, no longer in the curly form I was used to. I was a bit bigger overall, my muscles slightly larger than before. My eyes, once brown, were now an inky black.

I hated my new appearance. I'd expected it, no one can spend as much time shirtless as I did recently without noticing the new abs. And I kind of liked the new muscles, in a guilty way. But on some level, the fact someone had taken my humanity, had changed my appearance? It bothered me in a big way.

I liked being human. I had pride in it. Humans are pretty kickass. Granted, we're the only intelligent species we know, and any records of us being more badass than other species were either against animals or fictional species. But I still liked the idea of weak humans becoming powerful.

Whereas Saiyans are kind of the reverse of that. When Saiyans became a thing, they outstripped humans in a big way. Guys like Tien and Krillin, once legitimate rivals of Goku, were left in the dust. Even Gohan, supposedly more powerful than normal because of his half-human blood, didn't get too far.

After years of finding pride in being a human, of knowing that if push came to shove we could survive whatever came at us, I was turned into a species whose whole shtick was that they were better than humans.

So as awesome as it was to get superpowers, and as cool as I found Saiyans despite all that, I still had enough anger towards the thought of someone messing with my body to growl just a bit.

Still, my current species was something I had no control over. As fucked up as that was.

I picked up a rock and weighed it my right hand for a moment. It was about the size of my palm, flat in shape, black in color, and had a very slight grainy texture. I pulled my arm back and snapped it forward, releasing the stone.

It skipped once, twice, three times, over and over, leaving gentle ripples in its wake. I kept count, barely able to believe what I was seeing. It finally sank under a big wave.

"Thirty four." I said softly. "Huh. Is that even possible?"

That question brought another, one that started gnawing at me.

I turned away from the water and walked towards a nearby boat, the sand sinking beneath my feet as I slowly strolled over to the metal hulk. It had probably been a freighter or something once. When I got to it, I stared upwards. It was massive, just a wall of metal sunk into the sand for all intents and purposes.

"Okay. Let's see." I clenched my fists, and got low in my stance, the stance every boxer learns when they start. Then I snapped out a left jab, focused on piercing the metal with my fist.

Which it did, a loud squeal sounding out as metal gave way to my fist. The feeling of steel splitting under my knuckles, followed by the open air behind it, was so cool. I had to remind myself that I wasn't just punching for fun.

I pulled my fist out, then walked to my right until I was at a different section of the wall. This time when I punched, I focused on making the impact on a large area in front of me, rather than simply pierce the metal. This time the wall dented in a huge area, as though it had been hit by a car, as opposed to my relatively tiny fist. The ringing 'gong' noise that followed made me wince slightly, and I stepped back to wait until it stopped.

Then I went to a different section, and punched once more, focused on piercing once more. My fist sunk in wrist deep.

So that opened up a few questions more. See, I'd been wondering if my super-strength and invulnerability worked by my intentions, or by physics. If it was physics based, an object as invulnerable as my fist, backed by my strength, should have had the same effect every time right, no matter my intention?

Honestly I wasn't sure. A real scientist could have suggested something (Also, new idea for a story. The Mythbusters get dropped into Worm with superpowers. All I needed was a PC to write it out).

Ignoring my thoughts of writing fanfics while _living_ in one... Maybe I was using ki without even realizing it? I'd heard a few theories that said the reason Saiyan were so unnaturally powerful was that they had an instinctive ability to control ki to enhance themselves. But how the hell could I check that?

I kicked at the boat slightly and growled in frustration. "I wish I knew science." I said with a sigh. "So what now? Do I just…"

I needed wealth and time. The two most valuable resources in any universe if we weren't counting power itself. With enough of either, I could train myself, get the food I was craving, start tests on what I could do, figure out ki. I needed to…

I needed to join the PRT. In the end, the PRT was the fastest way to get the resources I wanted without simply ripping off armored cars. My plans for the future were to take on the bad guys and save the various woobies and good people who otherwise would get screwed over by this fucked up world. Lung, Kaiser, Coil, Jack, and one day Scion. I'd take them all down if I could.

So if I joined the PRT, I could cover all my bases. They would love to have an Alexandria package on their team, especially one who could ramp up permanently in power, and I doubted they'd see a problem with having to pay the low low price of enough food to feed a pride of lions.

But I didn't trust the PRT. They were just… so messed up, in a lot of ways. The fact they let Shadow Stalker on the Wards without giving her a serious amount of therapy was one example. Another was the various ways they seemed to screw over people all throughout Wildbow's novel.

And let's not forget the Golden Path.

So. To join them, or not? Was it worth the good if I was sure they'd end up screwing me over eventually? Hell, how was I going to present myself? I technically didn't exist after all. Maybe I could pretend I'd been triggered in a war zone and travelled here?

Oh wait, that was technically true.

I finally sat down and tried to figure things out. Whatever my decision… well, wait. If I ended up getting strong enough, who gave a damn what my decision was? I may have been annoyed about getting my humanity removed, but Saiyans were freaking monsters. If I could get strong enough, I could leave the PRT, do my own thing.

I grabbed a piece of metal on the beach and began twisting it in my hand as my tail twisted and snapped behind me, trying to decide what to do next.

I needed to join the PRT, right? Or maybe I had some other option I wasn't seeing. Damnit…

Saiyans love food. Like, a lot. Water is wet, deserts are warm, and Saiyans like food. So it was no surprise when my stomach, which had calmed down after the healing Panacea had given me, began growling again while I'd been trying to think about what to do next.

So that is when I decided on a plan. I needed food, and food required money. Drug dens had money, and sometimes food.

Screw going to the PRT.

And so, as the sun fell in the horizon, I was roof hopping once more, this time with a specific purpose. If I'd been less hungry I probably would have done something less risky. After all, the Merchants did have Meta's (Or Parahumans, or Capes, whatever) of their own, ones who might be formidable. But I was hungry, and that made my stomach my top priority.

The city had a wonderful glow to it as I soared through the air, the setting sun giving it an orange luster. I hopped over satellite dishes and water towers in great bounds, pushing myself as fast as I could. Brockton Bay was like a lot of big cities I'd been to. Ghettoes bare blocks away from rich neighborhoods, corner stores with advertisements for alcohol and lotto tickets, and beautiful building made more for style than substance.

As the sun fell, the other elements of a city came out. Woman on street corners wearing skimpy clothing. People entering bars and clubs to drink/dance the night's troubles away. Couples and groups walking into fine dining establishments.

Street vendors cooking hot dogs, shish kebabs, tacos, so many amazing scents as meat sizzled over hot plates, delicious food that-

It took a while to focus, after maybe a minute of standing on top of a building staring at a guy in a clean apron putting together a steak sandwich inside one of those food vans.

In the end though, I knew what I _needed._

My Saiyan nose was so strong I could barely comprehend it. All day one of the first things I'd noticed was the smells of things. I had no idea if that was a real Saiyan trait though. While Goku had been mentioned to have a strong nose as a kid, the Dragon Ball Z years never really mentioned that. Maybe Saiyans as a whole ended up depending more on their ability to sense Ki instead, maybe Toriyama had simply ignored that trait.

Still, I had the nose, and I could smell the Merchants, ABB, and Empire 88 before I saw them. Drugs and guns have a scent, and the scent changes depending on circumstances. Drugs like pot having a more earth scent (marijuana is a plant after all) and drugs like cocaine and meth having scents that range from sweet to acidic to rotted. Gun scents change based on things like maintenance and use. A recently used gun smells more strongly of blown up gunpowder of course, and the smell of oil indicates a well maintained weapon.

Empire 88 smelled best, ABB second place, Merchants in a solid 'fuck man, find a barrel of acid and dive in to remove that stench, what the fuck?'

That's how I found the first group of Merchants. They were hanging out near some stairs in a back alley near a dumpster. Keep in mind, back alleys aren't just narrow corridors. Often they hold large courtyards or storage units.

This one had a beat up old basketball court and a few doors leading into other buildings, with the Merchants relaxing at the bottom of the building across from me. There were lights that buzzed noisily above the court, giving the place a yellow illumination. No one else was around, and the amount of trash left around the Merchants told me they'd either been there for a while, or hung out in the small courtyard a lot. I decided to walk up to them rather than doing the whole 'hero drops from the sky to ground pound thing'. For one thing I imagined it would be hard on the knees.

As I watched, someone walked up to them. The group became quiet as one of them walked up to the newcomer. After a while, they exchanged things. The newcomer got a bag of something white.

I climbed down a fire escape. On the way down, there some people doing their own thing in their homes, and they gave me some odd looks when they noticed me. One little kid, maybe five years old with brown hair, green eyes and an Armsmaster toy noticed me as he was watching cartoons. I gave him a nod and continued down.

Strolling up to the Merchants, I started to label them in my head. There were four. One in his teens, the best looking, with messy black hair, bright blue eyes, and constantly laughing the way young people do around their older friends when they're trying to be cool. He wore a baggy shirt and jeans, both black, with some _very_ cool sneakers. I called him 'Kid'.

Another was a woman. She was leaning against a wall, smoking a joint with big puffs of pleasure. She had a short blonde crew cut, a face that had seen a broken nose that had healed crooked, and was a bit overweight. She wore old and ragged clothing, and a brief look at her showed the gun she carried bulging from her belt to poke out her shirt. She was 'Crooked'.

The last two were the worst off. They were laughing like hyenas, and had an acidic smell about them that made my lips curl, even worse than the two from earlier. One had dirty brown, greasy hair and pale skin. The other had… well, honestly he looked much the same. They weren't twins, their faces were different, but they had no different distinctive features. Both had needle tracks going up their arms.

I called one Frieza and the other Cell. More fun that way.

They noticed the guy with spiky hair and no shoes coming out of the shadows after a bit. Kid was first, looking more curious than anything. Frieza noticed me next, and his eyes immediately became suspicious. He'd been the one who made the exchange earlier, apparently making him the 'leader'.

"Yo, you need something man?" Frieza asked. As nonchalant as he'd asked that, he made sure not to stand between me and his friends.

Crooked reached for her hip in a sinuous movement. Cell stared at me, a single hand in his pocket. Kid didn't seem worried. I could bet he had probably never seen one these exchanges go badly. Folly of youth all around.

As Frieza walked up to me, I stopped and cocked my head. That's when realized I hadn't considered any thoughts besides how to get food, and so had no plan.

"Crap." I sighed. "Not a good start."

"Huh?" Frieza cocked his head. "You, come on man, stop acting all spaced out and shit, you want something?"

"Yeah, a reason to hit you." I said honestly. "I need to claim self-defense or something, right? That's how this works?"

The four of them stared at me, confused. "Fuck, you crazy or something?" Frieza asked in a befuddled tone.

"Ah whatever." I sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry, but I'm not thinking straight, so I'm just going to start this."

Crooked and Cell pulled their weapons. I took two steps forward, placed my palms on Frieza's chest, and then pushed him back.

"Oh shit mothafuckaaa-!" He screamed as he was sent flying from my 'gentle' punch, his back smacking into a brick wall with a mighty thwack. He bounced off the wall and fell in a heap on the concrete, groaning in pain.

Damn. That must have been what, twenty feet he'd flown, not even touching the ground?

"Huh, bit heavy on the shove I think." I rubbed the back of my head and chuckled.

Impacts like getting punched by took my attention from the groaning man. I turned to see Crooked unloading her pistol at me. Her teeth were gritted, eyes open, and she was screaming something rude about my mother.

One had to admire her for at that moment, even as I pushed past the fear that still filled me instinctively at the loud noise and impact that followed each pull of the trigger. Her shots were hitting me dead center in the chest, all grouped in the same spot. Good accuracy and precision.

When her gun clicked to tell her she had run out of ammo, she was still pulling the trigger, still screaming, now in as much horror as anger. I regained my balance, then started walking towards her.

Cell struck while I was distracted, the devious bastard (Some things are the same across the multiverse, eh?). He lashed out with a switchblade, aiming to stab it into the left side of my neck. The blade tried to dig into my skin, but the time spent on the beach had proven that sharp edges were as little a threat to me as bullets. At the very least, Cell's knife wasn't up to the task that more carefully maintained weapons might have done.

That was all speculation though. In the end, in this one case, a knife stabbed at my neck and bounced off.

Some part of me growled at the sneak attack. I swept my left hand to in a casual arc outwards. Cell, off balance, got smacked in his face by the back of my palm, and went flying back, blood trailing from his nose.

"Oh _shit_." Crooked moaned. She fell to her knees, horrified. Then, she reached for her belt and took out a gun clip, before staring at me. Then she just lowered her arms.

"Okay cool." I said with a smile. "Now, I want some-."

"Die you piece of shit Cape!" Frieza swung a two by four at my head like he was trying to send my head into the sky.

No one spoke in the aftermath of Frieza's attack. When I finally decided on an action I reached for my nose and closed my right nostril before blowing out the sawdust from the left, followed by the left. Then I looked at Frieza.

He was still holding the stick. About six inches. The rest had shattered into chucks, sending out a spray of wooden pieces. He stared at what was left, horrified. When he looked at me I was already grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and lifting him into the air.

"I need some money." I said as calmly as I could while fighting the urge to simply rip him in half and take what he had. "And his shoes." I added with a nod towards the Kid.

Kid hadn't moved during the events in question, only sitting there with his jaw dropped. Now he spoke.

"Wait, what!?"

"Socks too." I added, feeling a bit mischievous. "I'm not an uncivilized man after all."

"You're robbing us?" Crooked sounded as stunned as could be. "That's illegal!"

One by one, we all turned to look at her. Even Cell, who was still knocked out, twitched. Crooked blushed just a bit.

"Yeah, I just need food. So consider this a lesson. Don't sell drugs, or some random guy with no shoes will kick your ass and take your money." I frowned as I held Frieza high in the air with one hand. "It's not the most clear-cut lesson, but god knows it's necessary."

"We're Merchants damnit!" Frieza spat out. "Skidmark is going to-!"

I smacked him in the face, a spray of blood going outwards along with some teeth, then start rifling through his pockets.

Later I would feel guilty. I hadn't acted like the hero I wanted to be in any capacity besides beating up drug dealers, hadn't even called the cops.

At that moment though, all I could think about as I found some cash in Frieza's back pocket, was the food to come.

In my world, Hometown Buffet was the only buffet place I knew. I knew they had locations on the East Coast of America with a different name, but I had no idea what those locations were called.

That said, the buffet place I did find was exactly as I imagined it. Large dining area, classy curtains, and a smooth dark red color on the furniture and curtains that gave the room a nice warm feeling. When I walked in I took a deep breath, the smells of delicious food hitting me like an anvil. I strode in with my new sneakers, my shirt from earlier replaced with Kid's orange shirt (The bullet holes had ruined my last shirt).

A woman smiled at me from behind a counter. She was pretty. About a head shorter than me, with pixie cut red hair, freckles, and eyes as green as the leaves on flowers.

"Hi there! Welcome to-."

I walked up to her, and pointed at the board behind her. "If I wanted to pay as much as two groups worth, could I do that?"

"I… I'm sorry?" She was startled, but looked up at the board, which showed the varying prices based on numbers of people. "I, I suppose you could, but that would be around-."

"I know." I reached into my pocket and took out the wad of cash I stolen. I quickly put out the money as the poor woman stared at me in shock.

"Sir, are you paying for other people?" She asked as I finished counting up the money.

"Nope." I passed her the money and smiled. "I'm trying my best not to cheat you."

"O-Okay?" She hesitantly took the cash. When I strode past her she called out to me. "Sir, your receipt!"

"Not enough time!"

I grabbed a plate and a fork from a counter, then a cup. The food was arrayed in trays on big rolling carts. Mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, fried and baked chicken, warm slices of pizza, ribs of meat, slices of thin steak, still warm bread, acres of pasta ranging from spaghetti to lasagna.

"This plate," I said firmly as I piled my food on without caring much what it was I was about to eat. "Is not big enough."

A few hours later, the manager decided to take a shot at throwing me out. He was a fit man, with a simple blue t-shirt that had the restaurant's name emblazoned on it. He was balding, and wore a pair of glasses. He was also clearly shocked at the fact I was still eating.

"Sir, you've eaten more food than _four_ of the last families to leave." He said, sounding somewhere between amazed and exasperated. "You have to leave, I'm not sure your bill can cover this.

I passed him some extra cash and apologized around the succulent burger between my teeth. At least, I tried. I could talk very well as I sucked down the burger and started digging into some spaghetti noodles. He stared at the money, than sighed.

"Okay," He patted me on the shoulder. "Just… please don't come here ever again after this? The other customers don't eat if they're watching you do it."

I looked up briefly. Entire tables of people had completely shut down in what they were doing. One group of teenage girls were giggling as they stared, taking pictures on their cell phones. A little kid was staring in awe as he clutched an ice cream cone, licking at it placidly. A very fat man gave me a nod of respect, one culinary lover to another.

"Sure thing." I said once I'd polished off the spaghetti.

"How in the hell…?" The manager blinked. "That was… how!? You just started!"

I ignored him, and simply grabbed a plate of fried chicken drumsticks. He gave me an odd look. Then he walked towards the back as I finished the drumsticks. I got up, filled a plate with some cuts of beef, and returned. Things were quiet for me for a while. I ate and ate, delicious flavors and textures rushing through me like… I don't want to say a drug, but I was definitely feeling great.

I didn't really pay attention when the whispers in the room picked up and people started leaving. It was quiet for a while. Then someone walked up to my table. I ignored them, as I was about to finish, and was finally feeling sane again.

"Wow, you can really put it away huh?"

I looked up. A man stood in front of me. He wore streamlined body armor with a visor covering the upper half of his face, all in red. His brown hair was allowed to sprout from an opening at the top of his visor, and he seemed to be permanently smirking.

"Can I film this for the next time my wife tells me I eat like a pig?" Assault, one of the heroes in the Protectorate, laughed.

I took a moment to wonder how the PRT had found me. I mean, now that I wasn't hungry, I was thinking a lot more clearly. So I was beginning to realize that jumping around like a kangaroo, beating up gangsters, and eating hundreds of dollars of food were bad ways to keep a low profile.

As I stared at Assault and ate a delicious forkful of very cheesy and saucy lasagna, I took a moment to hope I could learn to control whatever made me so instinctual when hungry.

"You want some?" I asked the superhero, pushing forward a plate of beef ribs.

"Yeah, sure." He sat down and grabbed one after wrapping it in a napkin. He grinned as he did so, and I could hear a tinny voice yelling, presumably from his ear piece.

We sat there for a moment, eating in peace. "So what's up?" I asked him after a while.

"Nothing much." He took another bite of ribs, his next words muffled. "The PRT has been getting reports about some guy jumping all over town. And later some Merchants were found near where gunfire was reported, and they talked about some 'Monkey Cape' kicking their asses. Then we saw some status updates on media about a guy eating enough to make an elephant sick, and well…"

He shrugged. "So they called me in to ask questions. These are delicious by the way."

"Right?" I finished a couple of plates while he'd been talking, and felt completely sated. "I feel like this is going a lot more casually than it should."

Assault chuckled. "Probably. Honestly I don't see anything wrong with what you did, though you probably should have called the police after you beat up those Merchants."

That brought a wince. He was right. "Sorry. I was hungry, and I couldn't see past that." I explained with a hint of guilt. "I just… needed food, I guess."

He looked at me sympathetically. I have no idea why. I got the feeling he was putting more thought into my need for food than I was.

"So what happens now?" I asked when he hadn't spoken for a while.

"Hm?" He shook himself from his thoughts. "Well, I was supposed to come in and see if you were hostile. And if you weren't, to invite you to join us in the Protectorate."

Well that was enough for me to give him a surprised look. "Seriously? Just join?"

"Well, there'd be some stuff we'd ask." He admitted. "Look into your background, find out your powers, that kind of thing. And I'm supposed to give you this whole spiel on how great it is to be a member of the Protectorate, but it's all right mostly."

I heard a loud sigh over his earpiece, and he grinned a bit more.

Huh. I'd been thinking about joining anyways. And it wasn't like I wouldn't be strong enough to just leave if I wanted to later.

But there were issues. Thomas Calvert, AKA Coil, was a secret member of the PRT, and one with a lot of people under his rule. So any information they gained about me was information that could get to him. I could probably make that an advantage though. Give out info of a weak-sauce weakness, and then when he used it uselessly I would know it was time to move against him.

Unless he deleted that timeline. Man that power was bullshit.

Also, background? I'd shown up in Canberra, Australia. As far as I could guess, I had no official background. I was a ghost. Maybe I could use that? Claim there was some deep secret for why I didn't exist in official records?

Hell, maybe I could tell them I was raised by my grandfather in remote woods.

"Oy." I scratched my head. "I don't know. I like the idea, but there are some things I just don't understand myself. I kind of have a… odd past."

Assault placed a hand to his chin only to pull away when he realized a bit of barbecue sauce had been on that hand, a product of the ribs. He grabbed a napkin and quickly wiped it off, speaking as he did so.

"What kind of odd?" He asked, tossing aside the bit of cloth.

I thought back to the moment I'd entered this world. Waking up beneath burning skies. Seeing heroes fight an angel. That face, somehow both cold and burning, followed by the worst pain I'd ever felt.

A cold chill filled me. I forced it down, trying not to let my emotions be controlled by the thought of the pain had followed that angel bitch treating me like a fly. I didn't hide it well enough I think. Assault was staring at me, with pity.

I hated that. I didn't want pity. Empathy was fine. Pity is empathy with arrogance. Though I suppose I could have been blowing it out of proportion.

"You've almost died before. Right?" I asked bluntly.

He shrugged. He leaned forward to look at me a bit more closely. "Yeah. Once or twice."

"Yeah." I wiped my mouth with a napkin. "I want to join you. But I'd rather forget my past if I could."

The older man shook his head with a smile. "That's not possible. What if you're a villain trying to sneak your way in? What if you've been Mastered somehow? We have to know where you're coming from at least."

What could I say to that? "Damnit." I reached a hand up to run through my hair. "Look, I'm not _in_ any records. I'll let you guys take fingerprints and stuff, but I'm not going to show up. And I don't care if you just use me as muscle, I just want to be able to eat and help people out. Put me under any lie detectors you want, give me psychological tests, whatever. Or hell, only tell me when you want something beat up. I want to train, fight, and help. That's it!"

His response to my outburst was to blink. "Damn dude. I know that feel."

"Uh… sorry." I laughed nervously, rubbing the back of my head. "I just don't… I don't really have a past worth remembering." Shit, what did it say about me that that was kind of true. "I just want to move forward."

A tinny voice came from his earpiece again. He nodded minutely. "Okay. Well what are your powers?"

Now that was simple to answer. "I'm a Brute package. But I also have a natural ability for martial arts. And I can ramp up."

"Ramp up… like Lung?" He blinked. "You can get stronger over time."

"Not just over the course of a battle." I corrected, knowing on some level that I was about to let the PRT take a look at the most valuable thing about me. "I don't lose any strength I gain and go back into a base state like he does. Any increases I get are permanent, though I get them fastest under high stress." Technically true, as I had been boxing before entering this world. Talk about high-impact workouts. "But if I get injured to a near-death state, and survive, I get a massive increase to all my abilities. I can only ramp up if I'm pushing myself beyond human limits, but it's permanent."

To demonstrate, I held my hands out. "Today, I punched through solid steel. And I don't have a mark on my hands. Concrete's like butter. And I haven't found a limit. As far as I know, there _is_ no real limit to my powers."

Assault stared at my unmarked hands. "Huh. That's pretty cool. If you aren't lying I mean."

"I could be." I admitted. "That's why I'd be okay with the idea of joining the PRT. I know you guys have resources to help me figure out my powers. If I have to do it while following some rules, I'm cool with it." I grinned, feeling good enough to joke. "As long as there's food. And babes."

Assault laughed. "Man… you kinda remind me of myself kid."

I rubbed my chin, thinking about that. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

His smile became a bit different. Somehow sad, but also tinged with a bit of warmth. "I don't know. Things turned out pretty good for me." He sighed. "Why couldn't you lie and say you have some lame powers, like throwing ice cubes or controlling wood?"

I thought briefly of the sheer number of times I'd seen people in fiction do a hell of a lot with less.

"Well it's not the size of your powers, it's how you use them." I said without thinking.

Everything came to a screeching halt. Assault suddenly had the biggest shit-eating grin I've ever seen on his face.

"Did you just-!?" He sounded delighted.

"It wasn't on purpose!" I said, though I was laughing in embarrassment.

"That just makes it funnier!"

We both laughed at the stupid innuendo for a moment. In retrospect, it probably wasn't that funny. But I still felt good about the brief laugh.

After things petered down to a small chuckle, Assault rose to his feet. "How about this? You and me get into a van, we go to PRT Headquarters, and you talk to my boss. If you turn out to be on the up and up, and you still want to join, you join."

Oh, cool. That was a pretty damn good deal. Granted, there were some issues with it. I was betting that Piggot and Armsmaster would be there. Piggot definitely, Armsmaster as a soft maybe, since he might be more obsessed with tinkering something or the other. Piggot would be racist, or capist I guess. Armsmaster would be an ass, and he might have his lie detector already created.

"Well, I might as well see what's up." I rose to my feet. "So do we shake hands, or fist bump, or what?"

He laughed. "How about you just follow me, and we see what happens?" He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. "Oh yeah, and put this on. Kinda useless if you ask me, since people already filmed you, but we might as well make the effort."

As he passed it, I took the object and looked it over. A blank face-mask. Huh. Putting on and looking over at a nearby mirror showed that it hid my face perfectly, making me look like someone who had gone cheap on his Halloween costume.

Not the worst look for me, I decided. So, I followed Assault out of the restaurant, taking note of the fact the waitress was gone.

Outside, the once full parking lot now had a single black van in front, with no decals. A man in a black suit was in the driver's seat. Assault opened the door and waved grandly.

"Your chariot." He said with a certain amount of flair.

"Way to make it awkward." I noted with a grin at his act, and stepped into the van, noting the spacious interior and nice seats.

"Yeah well, I have dirtier jokes about bringing people into vans," Assault said as he took a seat next to me. "But I've been told that anymore of those means I sleep on the couch."

As the car started, I thought about that. "You got a few good ones?"

He grinned.

Assault and I spent most of the ride doing anything but talking about superhero stuff. Which meant that Assault would tell me the most horribly racy jokes I've ever heard in my life, the kind of things that would make the most hardcore of comedians blush like a schoolgirl getting teased about her first crush.

He made a game out of seeing if he could make the driver swerve with the really crazy ones. The man was clearly trying to ignore us, but found it hard when Assault began to really work him. He got his best with one about Alexandria and the things that 'relations' with her would involve.

Despite the near collision, we made it to our destination. As described in the books, the Parahuman Response Taskforce Headquarters was a fair sized steel-and-glass building in the Downtown section of the city. I'd actually seen it from the Boat Graveyard, though at the time I'd mistaken it for a really cool looking office building.

Our driver parked and just sort of deflated as the engine died, leaning forward to rest his head on the steering wheel. We exited the van and walked across the concrete to the glass doors of the building, me in my silly mask, and Assault walking in alongside me.

As we walked in, several guards against the walls marched towards us, creating a sort of parade for Assault and me as we walked towards the back.

Either these guards dressed differently from the ones that I'd seen in Australia, or I'd been on more powerful painkillers than I thought when I'd first seen them. Either way, these guys were dressed like SWAT's older, meaner cousin; black impact pads, chain mesh, and sealed helmets that concealed their faces. They carried a sidearm holstered on their leg, and their bodies were festooned with pouches and ammo clips. A few had weird backpack attachments of some sort, with what looked like spray hoses attached to them.

Containment foam, I realized. Same with the 'grenade launchers' that three of them were carrying.

When I learned to access my Ki, I knew that containment foam wouldn't be a problem. If I remembered right the stuff was pretty good at handling Brutes, though I had no idea if it would be just as good against me. For now, I decided to treat it with respect.

We walked past a desk towards an elevator. A secretary in a simple business uniform with long straight black hair was sitting behind it. She nodded at Assault, which he returned with an idle nod of his own.

"So this is where all the action happens." He said as we walked, followed by the PRT Guards. "And by action, I mean mind-numbing bureaucracy and paperwork."

"Really?" I asked sarcastically as I took note of the stiff guards following us in a stiff military march. "This group of party animals? I wouldn't have guessed."

"Well, Stacy here," Assault nodded towards a guard, who I couldn't tell apart from the others, and was in fact surprised to find out was female. "I hear she has a crush on Cindy at the front desk."

The guard stumbled slightly. One of the others let out what sounded like an involuntary laugh, coughing to cover it up, as Stacy straightened and tried to keep marching. Still, I bet even odds she was blushing.

"Sheesh, ask her out." Assault grinned, pressing the button to the elevator. The doors slid open, and the six of us stepped inside, while four other guards took position outside. "She'll say yes, big strapping girl like you."

"Gotta be honest with your feelings." I added, smiling myself. The idea of a tough guardswoman holding a torch for a pretty secretary was adorable.

"Granted, I don't know you, but we live in a world of super assholes and monsters. Seize the moment. Grab it by the hips and- well, ask her for dinner first."

Assault laughed, but gave Stacy a pat on the shoulder, presumably to let her know we weren't being malicious. The guard didn't respond.

Still, as the doors closed, I noticed her helmet turn slightly to towards the secretary.

"We used to have elevator music." Assault mentioned idly as we went up floor by floor. "But people kept hacking in with tinker-tech and changing it to hard rock, rap, that sort of thing."

As he spoke I was looking around, marveling at how smooth the ride was. If it wasn't for the numbers moving on the digital pad above the door I wouldn't have known we were moving. No one spoke for a while, just letting things move. On some level I felt rushed. Things were happening so quickly. One minute I'd been on the streets, now I was standing in an elevator with a superhero and this worlds closest equivalent to SHIELD soldiers.

Speaking of which.

"I kind of feel underdressed." Assault looked at me. I was still wearing the grey sweatpants I'd stolen, the black shirt Eddie from the clinic had given me, and the red sneakers I'd stolen from the Merchant kid. They were all a bit dirty, and the shirt still had bullet holes from the fight earlier.

"You're fine." He looked at the others around us. "I doubt anyone is going to be judging you on your fashion sense."

"Yeah." I took a deep breath. Huh. Nervous. I wasn't expecting that. I kind of felt like I was going in for a job interview. Which I sort of was, I supposed.

The doors opened, and I jumped. I hadn't felt the elevator stop.

"Relax." Assault patted me on the shoulder, and I noticed he had to reach up slightly. I guess becoming a saiyan had given me more height and mass than I'd thought. "Just breathe man."

We walked forward into a long hallway, the wall and floor made of steel. As we went, the guards peeled off in pairs at different intervals to take spots, until it was just Assault and me. The door we reached looked pretty heavy duty, and I had a crazy moment where I wanted to punch it to see if it could take it.

See, that's something they don't often cover about having super-strength. I kept having the urge to punch or tap things to see what I could do. It was very distracting sometimes.

As I was dealing with my juvenile urges, Assault opened the door and beckoned me inside.

Stepping inside, the first thing I noticed was the papers. They were everywhere, on the big wooden desk, placed on the walls with pins, and in a few small boxes. Several maps of the city were also on the walls, and had a few sticky notes fluttering on them.

Inside were two people who I'd expected on some level, and two others who were a surprise.

I looked them over quickly. As it turns out, my speed was now good enough that 'quickly' for me, was damn impossible for others, so I got a good look at them.

First, sticking out like a sore thumb, was the women sitting behind the desk. She was overweight, and not in a comfortable way, the folds pushing out against her business suit. Her hair was bleached blonde and cut into a bob-style haircut, and her steel-grey eyes looked at me with a neutral amount of interest. Unless I was amazingly wrong, that made her Emily Piggot.

Second, standing on her own and to the side, was another woman, fairly short. She had a green domino mask (How do those stay on, glue?), and a form-fitting body suit with green circuit-like metallic lines on it. Her hair was pulled up into a brown ponytail, and she had eyes only for Assault. Slightly annoyed, but still warm eyes. Which made her Battery then.

As Assault walked over to meet his wife and partner, I took a look at the last two.

The only male in the room before we entered, he was a really tall dude. Though it could have been the power armor that gave him that hight. The armor was a midnight-blue, with silver highlights all across it. He had a helmet that covered his eyes and nose, but I could see a neatly trimmed beard on his chin. When I spotted the weapon in his hand I took a moment to wonder why it was called a halberd. Maybe I was missing some knowledge on medieval weaponry, but that thing looked like a damn axe more than anything. So unless there was another guy in power armor with a fetish for pole-arms, this was Armsmaster.

Next to him was a woman in a military uniform. It was obviously designed to accentuate her curves, for reasons I don't want to admit thinking about. She had two American flag sashes, one around her waist and the other around her lower face, above which I could see a flash of her olive brown skin and chocolate brown eyes. Like Battery, her hair was pulled into a ponytail, though she wore a cool cowboy kinda hat on top of that. Like Assault, she had a weapon in her hand, though this was a simple knife. I don't recall Miss Militia ever wearing a cowboy hat in descriptions of her, but I'd probably missed it.

"So uh…" I rubbed the back of my neck. "There are a lot of you. Hi."

Assault gave me a grin and Miss Militia chuckled slightly. Armsmaster's frown became slightly more severe, and Piggot was right there with him.

"Battery and Assault were just leaving." Piggot glanced over at the pair. "We will be speaking later."

As I wondered what that was about, the pair gave each other a look, Assault curious, and Battery just shrugging. They turned to walk out, though Assault gave me a pat on the shoulder, which had Battery raising an eyebrow.

The door opened and closed, and I was alone with the others. "He's pretty cool." I said conversationally, pointing a thumb over my shoulder.

No one responded, though Miss Militia's eyes crinkled slightly into a smile. I coughed nervously.

"Please sit down." Piggot pointed at a chair in front of her desk. I did so, noting that it was extremely comfortable. More tinker-tech maybe? "Now, I've been told you may be interested in joining us?"

"Sure." My best smile didn't get a response from the older woman. "I mean, I'd like to get stronger, help people. Like I told Assault, as long as I can eat, train, and fight bad guys, I'm good." Feeling a little less nervous, I punched my left palm with my right fist. "Give me something to hit."

"Not the most professional stance." Miss Militia noted with amusement. Her voice was really nice.

"I'm just a guy who got powers." Was my response. "I want to do good work with them. And doing it with you guys is the best way."

"Hmm." Piggot still seemed standoffish, but at least she wasn't one hundred percent hating on me. "And was the account you gave of your powers correct?"

I hesitated. "Yeah, that's everything."

"Lie." The three of us looked at Armsmaster. He stepped forward. "Try again." His voice was gruff and gravelly, and he was talking as though he was ready to slice me in half if I lied again. Not yelling, just extremely pointed.

Huh. So he did have that lie detector made. Wasn't that a down the road thing? Or maybe this was a prototype?

"You were lying?" Piggot asked, now even sterner.

"Kind of." I rubbed the back of my head. "I don't actually know how to tell you how strong I can get. All I can tell you is that I know, for a fact, that my current state is not even close to what I can become."

That got a raised eyebrow from Piggot, a widened pair of eyes from Miss Militia, and a frown from Armsmaster.

"So it was not one hundred percent true. I can ramp up if I have time to heal after severe injuries, training under inhuman pressure just makes me better, and I know for a fact I'm built for martial arts."

The two woman looked over at Armsmaster. He stared at me for a moment. Finally he nodded. "He's telling the truth, as far as I can tell."

A wicked idea hit me. "Oh, and I'd like you to cut this off." My tail unwrapped from my waist, and waved behind me. The others stared as it began to wag. "Because if you don't and I see the full moon, I'll turn into a giant gorilla. Don't worry though, it grows back."

Priceless. The looks on their faces I mean. Armsmaster frowned once more. "It registers as true."

"You sure that your gizmo doesn't need calibrating?" Miss Militia teased.

"Possible." Armsmaster admitted, though anyone could tell it was tearing him apart to say it. "And it would fit with his powers being similar to Lung's. But for now-."

"How do you know all this?" The other two looked over at Piggot. She looked at me, those steel-grey eyes hard. "You seem to know everything about your powers. Why? Most new capes take weeks to fully understand their abilities."

Shit. Good question. I forced myself to talk, knowing any hesitation would be as bad as an outright lie.

"Someone told me about it. Let me know how my powers work. But I can tell you that I'm telling the truth."

Piggot eyed me a moment longer. Dammit, why was I fidgeting? I could bend steel like rubber, and this obese woman was making me feel like a little kid waiting for the principal to pass judgement. I breathed, relaxing as best I could.

"Well, even if you were lying, you've demonstrated that you could be an asset."

"Though your attack against the Merchants was rash and irresponsible." Armsmaster glowered at me. "Someone could have been killed by a ricochet of that gunfire, and two of them gained serious concussions and broken bones. The whole thing could have gone down much more efficiently."

Damn. Even if he was right, it was still irritating to hear him say in that tone. Like I was dumb as a rock.

"Yeah well, I'll do better next time." I said, frowning at the taller man.

"Yes, you will." Armsmaster replied. "As an adult, you'll most likely join the Protectorate, and if you continue to conduct yourself that way-."

"Okay." Miss Militia placed a hand on Armsmaster's shoulder. "Let's just call it an awkward first outing, shall we?" She looked between us, and I tried to stop wishing I could rip the older man's fingers off.

"There is something else." We looked over at Piggot, who seemed really irritated at the little moment we'd had. "You said you didn't want to discuss your past. That you would rather work with us. And that you aren't in any records."

Welp, here it was.

The best answer I could give was a nod. I kept my eyes on hers.

"You know, we've heard about something like this before." Piggot sat back in her chair. "A martial artist type superhero, with a mysterious past he'd rather forget." She looked me up and down. "What would you say about the woman who calls herself 'Crane the Harmonious'?"

The scowl that appeared on my face came so fast it almost hurt. "Absolute bitch."

Crane the Harmonious. A martial artist who kidnapped kids she saw potential in, raped them, forced them to undertake incredibly painful training against their will, all for some ill-defined reasons that I simply could not condone. Excuse my French, but fuck that bitch.

As I pushed aside my hatred and got ready to ask why Piggot had even mentioned her, she nodded. "Very well. We'll start power testing in the morning. In the meantime, Miss Militia will show you to a room you can stay in, and I'll have someone come by with some papers to sign." She ignored the startled look I gave her.

"You will, of course, be kept under watch and guard." She continued. "As an unknown cape we can't take the risk that you've been compromised somehow by a villain. But if you follow the rules and work with us, I think we can come to an agreeable arrangement."

The obese woman scowled. "Make no mistake however. Any sign that this is a trick, and we will take you down and send you to the Birdcage."

Oh yeah. I should look up how Canary is doing.

"And while I don't approve of his tact," She looked over at Armsmaster, who was still looking at me disapprovingly. "You'll need training on how to conduct yourself in the field." Piggot leaned back. "In the meantime, Miss Militia will take you to your room."

"Come on." Miss Militia walked around me and opened the door. Still confused as to why Piggot had suddenly decided my past wasn't that important, I followed.


	3. Chapter 3

"Armsmaster can be… blunt, at times." Miss Militia told me as I followed her through the halls, four guards marching after. "But he means well."

God she had a really nice voice. A hint of an accent, but a smoky quality I'd rarely heard outside of a Hollywood movie.

"He's one of those guys who aren't real good with people, right? Says what they're thinking, doesn't really wonder how it comes off." I said. I was kind of bored now that things weren't so tense, my hands folded behind my head in imitation of a stance Goku seemed to favor when he walked around.

"You know the type, huh?" Miss Militia turned to give me a look over her shoulder, and I quickly lifted my eyes from her hips to her eyes.

Wondering when the hell I'd started acting like a perv, I nodded. "Yeah, you could say that."

I took a moment to consider what I knew of Miss Militia. Generally seen as a good person. A very skilled fighter who could summon weapons to her hands in a flash. One of the only Parahumans who remembered their Shard vision, and she had yet to meet anyone else who did. She was also the only person who could stand to be around Armsmaster for more than ten minutes, with Dragon beating her by fifteen minutes.

She turned to look at me again, now walking next to me at a distance. Miss Militia smiled under her mask, then seemed to hesitate. "So. Your tail. You really wanted to…"

I blinked, then looked behind me at the fuzzy thing waving around. "Oh, yeah. If I don't—"

"You turn into a giant monkey." She shook her head, and I heard one of the guards make a choking noise. "Not that unusual I guess." She chuckled under her scarf. "But it does sound very unusual, even knowing about Lung's own ability. I'd like to see that sometime."

To that, I shook my head. "No. You don't. Ever." She turned around to give me a confused look. "Seriously. I get to be around thirty feet tall. But I can't control myself in that state. I go crazy, and attack everything around me. I call it the Oozaru form, and the only way to stop it without killing me is to cut off my tail."

I took another look at the waving long appendage. "Which, as painful as it sounds… let me get that knife?"

Everyone came to a halt. Miss Militia looked down at the knife in her hand, then at me. "What!? You're going to cut it off here!? And why the hell would cutting off your tail stop the transformation?"

 _Because Akira Toriyama created a really awesome universe dependent on some really non-sensical but fun ideas. Don't forget the other option is blowing up the moon, which any sci-fi nerd knows would cause a massive disaster._

Rather than saying all that, I sighed. "Look, my tail has more in common with fingernails in terms of removability. There won't even be any blood. And it'll grow back later."

Though I doubted the tail growing back was canon.

I held out my hand, gesturing. The guards around us were transitioning between staring at me and staring at Miss Militia, almost like they were watching a tennis match.

"I believe, considering how insane your request is, that I will say no." Miss Militia's knife suddenly turned into a simple pistol with a flash of light. "There is not going to be a full moon for weeks. The PRT will handle this later, with scientists and doctors."

That actually sounded logical. On the other hand…

"Aw, come on!" I whined. "That'll take forever! Let me just—!"

"No, I will not give you a blade so you can… mutilate yourself! And that is final!" She huffed, then spun on her heel and strode off, irritated. Dejected, I followed, trying my best not to pout as I shoved my hands into my pockets.

Of course, I probably failed, but I was kind of smiling on the inside even so. For some reason the fact that Miss Militia was willing to fight me on the whole thing, apparently uncaring of the fact I was capable of tearing through normal humans, made me feel an odd combination of reluctant pride and respect.

Miss Militia led us to a door in what looked like the quarters of the base, then checked her watch and sighed. She looked at me, obviously trying to keep calm. "Well it is going to be a while, but someone will soon be by with some papers for you to look over. Do you need anything?"

I thought about that for a second. "…Yeah. Can you find Assault and tell him about the giant monkey thing?"

That one got me a confused look. "I guess I could do that. Why?"

"So I can hear about what his reaction will be."

We looked at each other as we stood in front of the door, the PRT guards behind us. She seemed to think about it. Then her eyes crinkled into a smile again.

"Ha! That would be amusing," she said, with a very nice sounding laugh.

Assault finding out the guy he'd escorted could have turned into a monstrous ape? Hell yeah it would be funny.

"One last thing," I ask as she turns to leave. She turns to raise an eyebrow at me, suspicious of my mischievous grin. "Sure I can't get that knife?" The scowl she gave me was weirdly enjoyable.

"Sure, pick an orifice." She growled.

I chuckled, watching her walk off. I didn't know why, but seeing her annoyed was making me just want to hang out with her even more. Weird.

Ignoring that thought, I looked over the guards. "Fellas. I'm going to be honest. I kinda wish we could get to know each other and all that. I figure that you're not allowed to, professionalism and all that." None of the black helmeted guards said anything, but I nod as though I'd gotten an answer. "Well, thanks for the job you do. It's probably shitty, and sometimes thankless, but I guarantee this world would be in a lot of trouble without you."

I still didn't get a response, but that was okay. All I did was turn and enter the room.

As far as I knew, the PRT would be my backup in the bigger battles. If I could establish a good relationship with them, that would only be good for me. And besides, a stranger is a friend you haven't met yet right? Of course, they could also be an enemy, but I liked to lean towards positives in life.

The room was a very simple affair. A bed with a wooden dresser next to it, a closet at the foot of the bed, and a door that I assumed led to the bathroom. Everything was either beige or white.

I closed the door behind me, my good mood disappearing. I stepped forward, kneeled down, and grabbed the wooden frame of the bed. A quick tug revealed it wasn't nailed down, so I picked up the whole thing up and dropped it against the wall, leaving it standing lengthwise.

With that, I had plenty of room to move around. I removed my shirt and shoes, placing them on the dresser. Then I looked at the closet, whose doors had full length mirrors. I slowly crouched as I stared into the mirror, studying myself moving into a typical boxer's stance. The muscles on my abdomen and arms shifted underneath my skin as I lowered down, my eyes intensely panning over my own form. My fingers tightened into fists.

No fighter, no matter the martial art, has the same stance as others. They differ based on height, weight, muscle distribution, general comfort, and so on. But a good stance will always be focused on maximizing strengths while limiting weaknesses. Speedy fighters who like dodging will be more loose, grapplers will take stances that allow them to more easily take their opponents with their hands, while fighters who love power blows favor more solid stances that give a good base to land those blows.

Of course, that was my impression on such things. Which was part of the problem. I needed to relearn fighting, I couldn't just depend on my new strength after all. Every Saiyan is a natural martial artist, the best in fictional history, and that was something I could use to my advantage.

With that in mind, I jabbed forward with my left hand, then followed with a right punch. I did it over and over, moving with my full speed. I kept my eyes on my form, trying to watch myself carefully in the mirror for anything I could do to improve myself. Over and over, as fast and hard as I could, adjusting myself constantly. I didn't get tired for hours, simply focusing myself. Over and over. I changed it up, throwing in small dodges, blocks, low kicks from MMA, hooks, and uppercuts.

I don't know how long I kept at it. The carpet started to tear under my moving feet. The air was popping as I continued to punch at high speed, my hands feeling like they were almost pushing the air outwards. Sweat flew off my arms, and the air was filled with the smell of it. Time seemed nonexistent. There was just me, and my punching.

All that time, I didn't notice I'd had an audience. When I finally realized it, it didn't really register. I was still going full speed when I noticed a statue-like woman behind me in the mirror. Then I figured out that it wasn't that she was statue-like. I was moving so fast, perceiving things so fast… it was like she was standing still.

Damn, seriously? I could do that?

With that in mind, I stopped. Trying not to freak her out, I slowly turned around and looked at her, moving at normal speeds again. She was still staring, but she managed a hesitant smile. Apparently the woman had entered while I was doing my thing, and simply started staring.

She was petite young woman, with dirty blonde hair pulled into a braided ponytail, cute features, and she wore a nice black dress that seemed tailored to her form.

"Hi." I said a bit shyly, kind of nervous about someone catching me while I was doing my punching thing. "You have those papers I have to sign."

"Huh?" She looked up at me, as her eyes seemed to drift down at some point when I turned to face her. I guess she was thinking I needed a towel, which I would have agreed with considering the amount of sweat that had gathered on my chest. "Oh, right!"

A blush lit up on her face as a folder was held out for me to take. I took it, noting a PRT guard who was standing in the open doorway. "So what kind of stuff do I have to write?"

"Y-Your name," her voice cracked, and she focused her eyes on my face. "Your name, age, sex," She blinked, stuttering. "B-By that I mean gender!"

 _What the hell?_ I looked up at her, now wondering if becoming a Saiyan had made me dumber somehow, because I had to be missing something.

"Hahaha!" The woman's laugh was nervous. "Anyways, here's a pen!" She practically threw it at me, forcing me to fumble to catch, just barely not shattering the fragile plastic. "Just fill out anything with a star next to it!"

She ran out, leaving me to wonder what the hell was going on with her. Granted, I'd always been a bit oblivious around woman, but somehow I realized my inability to know what was happening was due to something new about my situation. Maybe I'd freaked out with the super speed punching?

The PRT guard didn't close the door. Instead he looked over at me. "Hey." He looked around the room. "So, the cameras already saw that you were just shadow boxing, but I've been told to ask you to please stop. The building sensors keep sending readings of the room shaking." He eyed the torn up carpet. "And we'd like you to stop damaging our property."

I blushed, rubbing the back of my head. "Sorry."

The Guard shrugged. "I'm not. That was cool as shit to watch."

What could a man do but grin at a compliment like that?

He shut the door, leaving me alone once more. Well, might as well get the paperwork over with. The floor groaned slightly as I flopped down on the ground, leaning against a wall. I opened the folder on my knees. From there, I was staring at the first question. My name.

Mahmoud. That's my first name. My real name. So of course I couldn't give it. I had to give them a different name. Maybe it was the paranoia, but names have power. What if there was a shard out there that gave someone the ability to attack someone based on knowledge of their name? A Death Note shard or something? Even if it was just me being paranoid, a fake name would be best to keep Coil from finding out and revealing me.

But it had to be something I could easily respond to, yet would only have meaning to me. Something linked with both my past and future.

Goku? No, that would only make me feel like I had to live up to him, to act like him on some level. Vegeta might make me feel inclined to be a jerk. Names have power. On some level, I'd feel inclined to reflect the men whose name I'd choose. If I was really that inclined to pick a name from Dragon Ball, it would have to be someone I'd felt a close connection with.

Gohan. He'd been my favorite character as a kid. We both were well read, we both were kids who often had the weight of the world on their shoulders. I'd always liked and identified with Gohan. I wouldn't feel as if I had some personality or legacy to live up to with his name. I'd just be me with a different name.

I wrote it down carefully, then tapped the pen against my lip.

So what about a middle name and a last name? Those took less thinking. I had two more names that were closely linked to my past after all. My middle name would be Mohammed, after my father's name. In fact, why even bother with a middle name? I'd take my dad's name. And tear it in half, make the connection between the name and myself even less obvious. That way if someone found out the name was fake, and started digging, they'd find nothing.

Gohan Moha. Looked ridiculous on paper, but I liked it, and I'd keep it. Besides, I'd probably get a code name picked out for me later.

That chore done, the rest was easy. Age, date of birth, so on. For powers I just wrote Brute and Mover.

That done, I closed the folder and laid it next to me. Then I got to the next phase of my training.

I sat down more comfortably. Put my hands in front me with space in between them large enough for an apple. And I focused. I tried to feel out an energy within my body, to try and bring it out. I tried my best to follow the half-remembered instructions from a twenty year old anime.

Nothing happened.

I spent the rest of the day trying to access my ki. I knew it might be a waste of time. That my earlier super-speed shadow boxing might be a waste of time. The point wasn't to make instant gains though. I was trying to set a precedent for myself. Training the moment I had free time, and pushing myself as much as I could with the tools at my disposal.

As I tried my best to continue meditating. I breathed deeply. Concentrated. I worked at it, and kept doing that.

I fell asleep sitting down.

-

"Bro." A hand poked at my cheek. An annoyed male voice began to cut through the fog of sleep, ruining my wonderful dreams of floating through clouds in the shape of American flag scarfs and dragon balls as I rode a metal version of Shenron. "Bro. Wake up."

"Assault, why is this important?" I heard, though the words sounded like they were coming through thick glass. I grunted against the floor, my body spread eagle on what felt like soft carpet. "We can talk to him later!"

"Giant monkey, Battery!" The annoyed voice said again. Then the annoyed tone turned into a bit jovial. "And I am not talking about his—."

"Honey, I saw that joke coming a mile away." The female voice sounded annoyed, but somehow warm.

My eyes opened. I was still groggy, but only from waking up. I felt pretty good otherwise. Maybe the meditation stuff had an effect I hadn't expected?

Assault grinned down at me, dressed in full gear. "Well there's our King Kong! How'd you sleep?"

"…I kept seeing the dragon balls," I finally said after staring up at him, still confused, if a bit refreshed.

"The dragon's what?" Battery asked, coming into view.

"Damn…" Assault grin couldn't be wider. "Kinky."

"They're magical." I grunted, slowly getting up.

"I'll bet they are."

That got a sigh out of me. "They grant any wish you want."

"As long as you rub them right!"

"Seriously, stop encouraging him, please," Battery said with a sigh. "He'll turn literally anything into innuendo now."

"In-your-endo." The room was quiet for a moment. Assault and Battery stared at me, Assault in delight, Battery in horror.

"Oh my god… there's two of them…" she whispered as she buried her face in her hands..

"Sorry," the different looks on their faces were funny as HFIL at a second look. "Reflex."

"Kong!" Assault cheered, raising his arms.

"God help me." Battery removed her face from her hands.

Overall, while the room service was lacking so far, the entertainment was top-notch at the Protectorate Hotel.

Speaking of room service, a loud noise like a demon roaring in anger filled the room. The two superheroes tensed, and the door to the room opened to let in two guards with hands near their guns. The roar sounded out once more.

"Where's it coming from!?" One of the guards said, his voice tight with tension.

"From… it's coming from…" Battery slowly looked at me, then down at my bare stomach. Following her gaze, everyone else in the room looked as well.

When my stomach growled again, I sighed. "Somehow I thought I'd be the butt of less jokes after getting superpowers."

Battery finally cracked a smile at that.

-

The machine dominated the small room. It was on a slightly raised platform, and seemed to be made up of dozens of padded levers. Thick cables ran into the walls and through the machine to run power to massive engines, the whole thing brimming with pistons and gears with other pieces supported by heavy hydraulic presses. The whole thing was bolted to the walls and ceiling by enormous chains that were perfectly taught, there was a humming throughout the room. The front of it was just a massive metal wall, with dents all over the surface the size of human fists.

Assault was behind me, and he chuckled as I stared at this thing. "Cool right? It's a Brute Tester. Punch it as hard as you can, then we see how strong you are."

"Awesome." I looked at three scientists that were in a room next door. I could see them through the three inch thick glass. Linebacker gave me a thumbs up. After nodding back, I turned to Assault.

"You sure you should be here?" I asked, worried.

"Ah, it's cool." He waved a hand dismissively. "It's not like this thing will explode."

"Tempting fate?" I strode forward, lowering into a stance again.

"This thing can take hits you wouldn't believe," Assault answered. "Just go for it."

Good enough for me. I doubted I'd be able to break it, but at least now I could have something to punch as much and as hard as I could, really get a feel for how strong I was.

With that, I went into that state of high speed I'd discovered the night before. A bit of practice had proven I could easily snap between normal perception of time, and the much slower version.

Then I started hitting the metal wall. Punches, kicks, full shoulder tackles. I soon found a rhythm, and went for it, my blood pumping, and a part of me exhilarated at the sheer joy of slamming my body into an object that would take the hit. If you've ever hit a body bag, you know that feeling.

Soon the room was shaking, the sound of two blunt objects slamming into one another filling the air. Not even a minute later someone started shouting. I hopped back from the wall after hitting it a few more times with some front kicks. Turning, I saw the scientists working furiously in the next room. Assault clapped my back, laughing.

"Damn, that was cool!" He looked over the metal wall, noting the new dents in it. "Still not as fast as Velocity I think, but that was pretty damn impressive!"

"Not good enough." The machine had survived. As far as Saiyans went, that meant I was a pathetic weakling, and for some reason that grated on me. Granted, I knew I wouldn't be able to break the machine, but it was still disappointing.

My tail tightened around my waist. For a moment the crazy thought that I was essentially hugging myself for comfort filled my mind, before I forced the thought away.

"Anyways, what's next?"

-

From there the tests got crazy. They had me running on a treadmill to see how fast I could run. I'm proud to say it broke when I went just a little faster than was possible for it to take. I was faster than any car in existence and could leap tall buildings in a single bound.

And then of course, they had to test if I could really learn martial arts skills faster than natural. At that time I learned that Uber had the ability to master any skill. I didn't know that. I guess someone had said that at some point, maybe on a forum or some random comment, but I hadn't really known Uber had that power. Another reminder that I should have read a lot more Worm material.

Anyways, they tested out my quick learning in two ways. Personal training and video training. While I'd said my powers only worked on martial arts, they tested it on other skills as well.

So I got training, brief as it was. First, a video on Tai Chi.

-

I stood in a large room with scientists watching as I followed the instructional video, moving my arms back and forth in wavy manners.

"Is it working?" A scientist who was built more like a linebacker than a genius was watching closely as I moved, a clipboard in hand. He, like the others, was dressed in normal clothes rather than the lab coats fiction told me to expect. In his case it was a blue t-shirt that looked like it was going to rip with every move he made.

"Yeah, kind of." My left foot moved out, and my right palm pointed skyward. "But so many of these moves are useless for combat. I don't know how I know that, but I do. There's some good ones though. Like this."

I twisted my wrist as I extended my arm. "With this, I can divert a blow at my upper body. Then…" I snapped my other hand up, like I was slamming my palm into someone's chin. "redirect their attack."

"Sounds useful." Linebacker Genius smirked. "But it could have helped if you slowed down."

To that, a hint of chagrin filled me. Apparently I'd activated super-speed again. "Sorry."

"No, I get it. New powers and all." He watched me moment later. "Still, your learning is working?"

I nodded. Still, something was bothering me. Even the 'useless' moves felt like they had a purpose. They were locking in. I knew they weren't specifically for combat per se, more for health benefits. But as I followed the soundless video and the older Asian man going through the motions, I kept getting the sense that I had to add something.

-

We moved on afterwards to personal training. That was a PRT training officer taking me through a CQC course. I had to be careful when we directly interacted. A single punch had the chance of taking his head off. But that went a lot smoother. The trainer, a black man with large muscles and a calm tone of voice, guided me patiently. When we were down with the punches and take downs and such, he made it clear I had mastered each move. As in I could do them better than he could.

Superpower lottery. I have that.

Granted, that could have been because of my super-strength and speed, but it was decided that proved it.

Of course, the same wasn't true of other stuff. I didn't learn drawing any faster, all my art still looked like crap after twenty minutes of learning, and I accidently broke the piano they brought in.

In the end, having practiced all the powers I'd told them about, they gave me a rating.

Brute 6, Mover 7, Thinker 1. My powers were listed as having an enhanced body, allowing me to do things no natural human could, and a mind able to learn and process martial arts at a high rate, though nothing outside of combat skills. Sounded about right.

"So you're saying I need to train." That was my final verdict on the rating.

"I… suppose." Linebacker Genius was sitting across from me. Assault had left, bored of watching me do the tests (though he'd laughed when the piano shattered in the middle of 'Chopsticks'), leaving me defended/watched by the PRT guards. "Really, you seem fine as it is. You could use training on your control, and a formal martial arts session or two is always good, but there's really no evidence that you could see a measurable growth in your strength and speed outside of, well, the martial arts aspect."

Sorry scientist dude. Give me enough time, I'd be moon destroying strong. Even more, planet popping. Past that… well I'd be capable of taking on Scion. And if I could do that, I'd be able to let other heroes play support, force him to focus on me. So I had to work, work fast, and get moving.

"Is there a way to simulate a high gravity environment?" My question threw the larger man off.

"How do you mean?"

"I mean a way to simulate the gravitational pull of say, Jupiter. Some way so that when I do things like pushups, I won't just be wasting my time," I explained further.

"Oh, well in that case you'd want to talk to Kid Win or Armsmaster." Linebacker Genius tapped his chin thoughtfully. "They've both been making moves in the direction of anti-gravity. They could probably help you do the reverse. In fact, I'd suggest they help you make armor that would increase the gravity around you. That way it would be a constant training exercise. Walk around like that a few weeks, and I imagine you'd get a good increase in strength."

"But it's doable?"

To that, he went from tapping his chin to rubbing it, looking up thoughtfully at the ceiling. "Weeeeeeeell. That's a good question. Kid Win is probably your best bet for that question keep in mind. Tinkers and thinkers are able to think up some insane ideas that _shouldn't_ work, but still do."

That was pretty promising actually.

"Well, how about some way to increase my speed?" I asked hopefully. "A way to improve my reaction time and control? If I'm out in the field on patrol I think my speed will be more help than my strength in a lot of ways, at least in the day to day work."

"Catch bullets." Both Linebacker Genius and I looked up at the PRT guard who had spoken. She shrugged. "You're bulletproof, right? Do that martial arts thing where they catch bees, but do it with bullets."

I looked hopefully at the massively muscled scientist.

"…That could work." Linebacker Genius laughed. "Hell, the PR department will love that idea. A superhero whose training involves catching bullets? We film it, let it spread online." His laugh became a throaty chuckle. "PHO will love that."

He snapped his fingers suddenly. "That reminds me!" He spun his chair around, a loud squeal following. He grabbed a thin cardboard box on his desk, spun back towards me with another squeal of sound, and held it out. "According to Director Piggot, you were kind of homeless before you came here."

I took the box, nodding. "Yeah, that sucked."

"I bet." He nodded to the box as I carefully peeled it open. "So I looked around a bit, and found you this."

I took out a laptop. Well, it looked like a laptop. Like, if it was made by a mad scientist? It was black, and laptop shaped. But it also had weird metal tubes sticking out the right side, and some plastic wiring on top. The left side had a single plastic tube that was clear enough that I could see a green liquid running through it.

"It's uh…" I lifted it up, looking it over. "It won't explode will it?"

"…If it does, you're the best qualified to survive it." Linebacker Genius let out a deep belly laugh when I looked at him in alarm. "Only joking man! Naw, this is old tinker tech! We had it in storage for the last five years I think. It's not great, the guy who made it…" He looked at the laptop for a moment. "He uh, died. Simurgh attack. She took his armor to make something while he was flying."

"Shit." I grimaced. "I'm sorry."

"I didn't know him that well." He shrugged, trying not to seem sad. "At least it was fast. Anyways, he made this for fun. It's not cutting edge anymore, even the standard market stuff will beat it, but it will connect to the internet and stuff. I'd wait for the PR guys before you make a PHO account, but it will serve you well."

The door to the room opened. A face in a familiar red mask poked in. "Yo, you decent?"

"On good days." I answered with a grin. Assault was quickly becoming one of my favorite people in the building. Battery was nice, Miss Militia was nice. Assault was awesome. (Armsmaster was a dick.)

"Cool." He opened the door fully, entering. He looked at the laptop I was holding, blinked in confusion, and then shrugged it off. "So Director Piggot wanted you to go see the PR guys."

"Wait, now?" I looked at Linebacker Genius, then at my four PRT guards, neither of whom seemed to have answers. "Isn't that a bit fast?"

"Nah." Assault waved a hand dismissively. "She wants to get you out there quick. Having a Brute as strong as you out there along with the rest of us makes us look like we're on top of things."

"Oh." The laptop went into the box, and I carried it under my arm as I stood up. "I guess that makes sense." I held out my hand to the scientist, who rose to up to shake it. "Thanks for everything."

"Sure thing. And think about what I said about those training exercises. I'll think up some more, but we should figure out a way to make the others work if we want things to go smoothly." He patted me on the shoulder. "Anyways, head out. I think Glenn will be happy to meet you."


	4. Chapter 4

My first act when I got to the small conference room Assault lead me to was to use my laptop to connect to the internet. Because in the end, I am a product of my generation. I had to stop to ask Assault what the password was, and he gave me the one they let the public use, which worked nicely. Then I opened up the search engine they used, and found a video site. Then I split the tabs into two windows and started multitasking as fast as possible. On one window, I started googling (Though google apparently hadn't kicked off in this universe) different things about the universe. News sites, celebrity gossip, movies, so on. The other windows, I looked up as many videos showing capes in combat as I could. Specifically those in flight.

As it was, I had no real idea of how to fight in the air. I don't know any martial art that has truly dealt with that sort of thing. And anime and manga of Dragon Ball media wouldn't be the right way to go. So I needed the next best equivalent.

Luckily, flying capes had been around for decades. It didn't take long to find excellent footage of them fighting. Alexandria, Legend, and Eidolon were the big ones of course. Then I was surprised to find videos of Crane.

Between them, I was getting an idea of what style one could use in flight.

Alexandria preferred to use her overwhelming speed and strength to speak for her. The Library of Alexandria was a power fighter through and through, only really using holds and throws on vastly weaker opponents. Watching her fights against Behomoth on the other hand, was reminiscent of the better fights from the Superman animated stuff, all sonic booms and tremendous kicks and punches.

Legend was a ranged man. He liked to step back and unleash accurate blasts of different laser type attacks. He was controlled too, something Alexandria shared. Both fought like professionals, only using as much power as was smart, and making sure not to depend on their defenses alone to protect them. Strategic is what they were, though Alexandria more so.

Eidolon was very different. His multiple powers made him something of a jack-of-all-trades, but he seemed to fight for the love of it. Alexandria and Legend ended fights as quickly as possible. Eidolon gloried in them. When he fought against weaker opponents, he seemed to get bored. It didn't show on his face, but in his style. And fights from later years seemed to scream of a bone-deep weariness. Even Endbringer fights, where he seemed to get a sort of joy in fighting in, he acted with less and less enthusiasm.

Crane was very different from them. And watching her, my whole body seemed to hum. She was _magnificent._ Her orb may have allowed her to redirect and control momentum, but there was skill there. A whole lot of it. She seemed to dance in combat with others capes, her moves both efficient and glorious. A punch that carried no wasted movement, a dodge that brought her exactly as far as needed to avoid the hit. If she hadn't been such a horrendous monster, I might have gotten a crush.

Then, as I was looking between her video and something about a new movie from Earth-Aleph that was topping the charts, I noticed her use a Tai Chi move. But there was something off about it.

When I'd watched the video of the old guy doing Tai Chi, something had been off. I could mimic most of the moves, but it had felt off. At times, whatever was in my Saiyan blood that allowed martial arts techniques to flow into me seemed to absorb the old dudes movements, adding them to what I was slowly thinking of my martial arts library. Other times, I felt like a normal human following a video.

Now, watching Crane the Harmonious counter a move with something I both did and did not recognize from the video, I became confused.

I switched to the video window and started searching for videos on Tai Chi. I went through them carefully, before picking the one whose thumbnail seemed to scream out to my Saiyan body.

Sitting in that conference room, I watched the video of a father and son pair bowing towards the camera. They both wore dark blue shirts and sweatpants emblazoned with the logo of their dojo. The father was in his forties, Asian, with thinning black hair and some wrinkled from smiling. He was well muscled, and a bit shorter than his son. The son looked like an Olympian, and while he was suffering from acne, he was a good looking teen.

Slowly, with care, they started to teach a simple kata. And as I watched, understanding flooded me.

"Oh come on!" I yelled in frustration.

"What's up man?" I looked up at Assault. The hero had been patiently waiting with me, and cocked his head in confusion as he walked over to where I was sitting.

"I just realized why I was having so much trouble with that Tai Chi video." I said. "I guess I should have thought of it, but it was almost too stupid to consider—"

"You were having trouble?" Assault asked skeptically. "The way the eggheads were talking you had it mastered."

"Yeah, I did." I turned his laptop around so Assault could see it. "But my powers had trouble making them fit. And now I know why. Look at this."

He seemed to find the anger I was feeling funny for some reason, but he leaned down to look at the screen. After a moment of watching, he looked at me blankly.

"Okay, so what am I looking at?"

"Real Tai Chi." I said. "As opposed to the hack who made that video. That's why I was having trouble. I was trying to follow movements that were thrown in to look good. I don't know the deal with that guy in the approved video, but these two are the real deal."

Which meant that my powers could only learn moves that were helpful to combat. Weird to think about. Was it possible that if I watched ballet or other non-combat activities, I would end up instinctively learning combat style moves? At the very least I couldn't be sabotaged by a bad teacher.

As I made a decision to add a few clips of dancers and gymnasts to my watching repertoire, the door opened and a peroxide-blonde woman came into the room. She was tall, almost alarmingly skinny, with a slightly harried look in her bright blue eyes. She wore a black business suit that had probably been in better shape before, but now had rumples and wrinkles, with some coffee stains on her white blouse.

But despite how overworked she looked, she still managed a bright smile at Assault and me. "Hi! I'm Britney!"

I was immediately reminded of a Barbie doll. She just had that perky demeanor.

"Uh, hi." I replied. "I'm Gohan."

"And I'm Assault." The red clad superhero smirked. "But you probably know that."

"Nice to meet you both." Britney strode in at a fast clip, reaching out for my hand. I was careful to keep my grip loose so I wouldn't hurt her, and she took advantage of that to shake my hand at the same fast clip as her walk. "Wow, you're a big one!"

"…I am?"

She giggled at my comment, moving to shake Assault's hand as well. "Yep! That makes this easier! Male heroes, especially Brutes, with large builds tend to trend well among civilians."

Huh. Good to know she had as much smarts as the real Barbie. Seriously, while the doll did promote unrealistic body types, she also apparently worked as an astronaut, scientist, wizard, and other intellectual jobs.

By the time I stopped thinking about the IQ level of a doll, Britney had assembled some files on a table. "Please, sit."

"Glenn isn't coming?" Assault asked.

"Oh no, he doesn't leave home for anything that doesn't require his attention." She answered. "I assure you Mr. Moya, I will be able to take care of your needs."

"Well if you're that confident then I'll put my faith in you." I smiled, trying to be as sincere as possible.

She blushed a bit, coughed, and lifted up the papers. "So, I was looking over the files we had on you. You're a Brute/Mover, with a martial arts specialty? Super-strength, super-speed?"

"Yep." Plus flight, ki blasts, telekinesis, and abs.

"Excellent!" She chirped, not knowing my inner thought process. "And I heard that you're looking into getting some armor?"

Huh. Linebacker Genius must have spread the word.

"Yeah, just something to help me with training."

"Okay." Britney tapped a pencil against her lips before picking up a folder up. She flipped to a page and jotted something down. "So I have some ideas, but we want to get you out and patrolling today."

"Today?" Assault blinked. "That fast?"

"Oh yes!" She said. "Having him out and working with a fellow hero for about a week before we announce him would do a lot to generate some buzz!"

Assault grinned. "Huh. Guess you'll be working with me and Battery then."

He patted my shoulder as I thought about that. "Well, will you guys be able to make a costume by today?"

"We will." Britney said confidently. "It would be temporary of course. I don't want to have something official before Kid Win or Armsmaster finish your armor. That way nothing clashes. I called Kid Win to come and meet us, but Armsmaster is busy for now."

She flipped through her folder a bit, then took out a sketch. "This is something we've whipped up however. Just until the real deal is finished. What do you think?"

I looked it over, cocking my head. It looked like a normal martial arts gi, with some decorative dragons on the chest. Nothing really special. I thought about it briefly, then looked up at the hopeful Britney.

"I like it." I smiled at her as I handed it to Assault. "Did you draw this? It looks really good."

"O-Oh, it's just something I wiped up." Even saying that she seemed to glow with pleasure.

"Huh. It's good for now I think." Assault nodded. "I mean, our boy here _is_ bulletproof, so I don't think he'll need any armor."

"There is one thing." I looked at Britney seriously. "Can I choose the colors?"

Before she could answer, the door opened again. A young teen walked in, wearing red and gold armor. A red visor covered his faces, and there was a bit of oil on his cheek beneath the crimson visor. He looked in at us, then smiled politely as he strode in.

"Uh, hey! I was asked to come here and consult?"

"Excellent timing!" Britney said cheerily.

"Kid Win?" I asked, not that sure, since he'd only been described to me. The Ward's smile got a little bigger when I recognized him.

"That's me."

"How you doing, kid?" Assault said fondly. "Sit down, take a load off."

The young man came over to sit down. "So what do you need?"

I explained my needs. An armor that would force me to constantly train superhuman muscles, could survive high combat situations, and could be turned off if I need to relax.

"Either that or build a room that increases gravity." Kid Win blinked at that.

"Huh. That's…" He thought for a moment.

"By the way, how are you at making modular equipment?" Might as well see if I could help the kid realize his specialty. "You know, things that can be modified by attaching different things? Are you good at that?"

The whole time, Kid Win had simply listened. He struck as the kind of kid who was pretty respectful around his elders, the prototypical nice guy. Now, at those words, he cocked his head in thought.

"I don't know." He rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I… never really…" He trailed off.

"Uh… Kid Win?" Britney asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about…" He looked at me again. "What were you thinking about? For modular equipment, I mean."

There was a new eagerness to his voice, the kind that only comes when someone is the verge of a creative breakthrough. I'd done the same myself a time or two when writing. So hearing that in his voice, I had to hide a grin. Just call me the butterfly… on second thought, don't.

"I was thinking about a weapon. Something that can fit in with the whole 'knight' theme, but could also relate to martial arts."

"Ohhh!" Britney said, sounding fascinated. "Good idea. The guys on PHO love weapons. Not guns of course."

That actually wasn't why I wanted a weapon. I planned to take full advantage of my Saiyan ability to absorb martial arts. Until I figured out ki, that was my greatest edge, and if would continue to be useful afterwards. And there are a whole lot of martial arts that deal with weapons.

"Modular." Kid Win said the word again, sounding like he was in a trance. "What do you have in mind?"

"Oh, believe me." I smirked, trying to channel a bit of Vegeta. "I got ideas."

I didn't actually, but it sounded cool, right?

Omake by Satire Swift on Spacebattles:

Battery's eyebrow twitched as she glared at the two males standing in front of the now collapsed house. The structure probably was a fixer upper before they got through with it, but now it was little more than a pile of rubble. With a number of mostly unconscious Empire thugs littered about the debris and yard. Assault rubbed the back of his head. "Ok, I know what you're thinking-"

"Do you?! Because right now I'm thinking about you could have possibly blown up a house in the five minutes it took for me to go to the bathroom!"

Assault pointed. "Yes, exactly that. I'm going to let my main man explain that one." A pause. "Kong, I'm talking about you."

"Oh no, don't you try to pin this one on me!" the younger male yelled back. "You're the one who went after those thugs who were clearly trying to lead you into a trap!"

Assault snorted. "Well of course I did, I didn't want to disappoint them. They clearly wanted it."

"What. Happened?" Battery hissed out.

Gohan turned to her. "Well, we followed them back to the house, and it was clear that they had used this spot as a trap before."

"Oh yes." Assault said with a smirk. "The front entrance has seen a lot of men going in and out."

"Assault decided to take the front while I would surprise them from behind." Gohan said, the hint of a smile crossing his face.

"I eased my way through the front, as I didn't want to make them uncomfortable." Assault continued. "You have to make sure they're relaxed before you have your buddy enter though the rear."

"Unfortunately, their back door was a lot smaller and tighter than I thought." Gohan admitted. "I don't think they actually ever tried to use it as an entrance."

Battery covered her face with her hand. "Oh god you're really doing this aren't you."

Assault smiled even wider. "I'll admit, once they realized what was going on, they weren't too happy. They really started constricting around me, it almost hurt."

"But I finally pushed through the chute and the real fun started!" Gohan shouted.

"Oh god please stop talking." Battery moaned as her face turned beet red.

However, there was no stopping them now. "We built up a rhythm, pounding on them back and forth with them stuck in the middle!" Assault cried.

Gohan stepped up. "But then they whipped out some toys. Explosive toys!"

"As you know, I'm not adverse to shaking things up with a little extra equipment." Assault said. "But there was no way we were letting them get on top."

"So I grabbed them by their legs, hosted them up and made it clear who was in control!" Gohan said with a nod.

"And we managed to pull out just before the whole load blew!" Assault finished with a gesture.

Battery was silent for a long moment before she finally said "I can't believe I actually let you do that."

"THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!" The two yelled simultaneously before they hi-fived.

Battery broke down into hysterical sobs.


	5. Chapter 5

"Assault, heading out on patrol."

"Battery, going with him."

"Uh… I don't have a codename yet. The PR Department is still deciding on it."

I stood next to Assault and Battery, wearing the makeshift costume Britney had had her people whip up. On my request, she'd changed the colors and designs slightly. There were some blue dragon designs on the front, but any anime fan from my world would have recognized the costume as a version of the one Goku and Krillin wore, right down to the orange and blue motif.

It had the orange vest, blue undershirt, blue belt, and some blue painted PRT combat boots finished the whole ensemble. I wouldn't wear it forever, but I thought it appropriate that I wear the colors of the Turtle School on my first day out. I kept my tail wrapped up under the vest, so that no one would end up grabbing it.

Oh yeah. And a mask. It covered my face, but left my hair to go free. It wasn't bad, but I think I would have preferred to Clark Kent it.

At least it wasn't a giant orange helmet I guess.

"Oh yeah," Assault turned his eyes to me from the motorcycle he was sitting on, which shared his red color-scheme. "Guess we should come up with one. What do you think, Puppy?"

Battery crossed her arms as she sat on her own motorcycle. "A temporary one, sure. Just something to call him over the link."

"Isn't this a bit weird?" I asked. "I mean, I'm going in a temporary costume, without a codename? With two heroes?"

Assault shrugged. "A bit. But hey, don't you want to see what you can do? Besides, what the worst that can happen?"

 _Did he just— You're a superhero! Why would you tempt fate!?_

As I stared at Assault, he seemed to take it as reason to come up with a name.

"How about Karate Kid!?" He waved his arms in a pantomime of chopping. "Like that Earth-Aleph movie?"

"That's lame." I said.

"Agreed." Battery agreed. Her husband grinned, apparently unhurt by our bluntness. "How about Wushu? Like the martial art."

"That just sounds like woohoo." Assault replied as they rolled out of the garage that held military vehicles for the PRT.

I followed at a light jog, slowly speeding up. "Plus, naming myself after martial arts styles is kind of tacky."

"But Wushu makes up hundreds of styles," Battery explained, though you could tell her heart wasn't really in it. "and you can _learn_ hundreds of styles."

"Yeah Puppy, but it still sounds like woohoo." Their motorcycles revved up, and I started running a bit faster.

Honestly, it felt really cool, running alongside two motorcycles as we entered the city. Goku may get associated with Superman, but I honestly felt more like the Flash at that moment. There was a hint of nostalgia to that thought. I remembered a comic where The Flash and Batman on a motorcycle went on a patrol together, and found myself grinning as I pumped my arms and matched the two bikes speed.

The small ear bud I'd been given, made to pick up vibrations in the bones to understand speech, buzzed as we went, and Assault continued the conversation over the radio, since the bikes were too loud for us to hear each other.

" _Turn into the right street, Defiant."_

"Defiant?" I asked as I followed. "What would I be defying?"

" _The man!"_

" _He's working for the man though."_ Battery said.

" _Wow, talk about your twisted allegiances."_ Assault joked.

"Nah, I'm planning to take the whole thing down from the inside."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Uh, you guys know I'm joking right?"

" _Of course."_

" _Yes."_

They did not sound convincing. Welp, I was going to have to be more careful with my words I guess.

I suppose, even though the pair seemed to like me all right, there was still the idea I might turn out to be a secretive asshole. Which was understandable, but it still hurt. I always thought of myself as an okay guy. Hell, I couldn't even make myself play a bad guy in video games, let alone real life. So being seen as a possible villain actually ended up affecting more than I thought I would.

For a moment, running down a busy street while the heroes next to me were cheered on at times by the people on the street, I felt alone. Part of me felt enraged by that thought. Why did _I_ need anyone? I felt torn apart. Rage at the thought this affected me so much, sadness at the fact it would be a while before I could truly confide in someone again.

In the end I pushed away the anger and sadness, pumped my arms, and zoomed forward, leaving Assault and Battery to follow for a moment.

-

We finally decided on Defiant as a temporary name, just between us and central, who had apparently listened in on the argument. From there, we went around the city. Most of it was just us driving/running around. Sometimes Battery and Assault stopped to give autographs. As I wasn't yet to be introduced, they took turns, leaving the other to chaperone me.

There were also some bad jokes. Assault and I kind of fed off each other jokes, and Battery complained lightly about our maturity levels. I noticed she didn't seem invested in stopping us though, and caught her smiling at Assault once or twice as he told yet another story that was clearly not true, as I had it on good authority that Simurgh had never hit on Armsmaster.

I had some fun running around the city. I stayed on radio to let them know where I was, and never left them for more than a minute. Jumping on top of buildings to get a view of our surroundings, using my super-speed to blaze past people, it was all pretty cool, especially when I could take a bit of time to watch the world in slow motion. Granted, I wasn't fast enough to slow things to a near standstill, but it still made for an interesting sight when things like cars driving, people walking, and Assault flirting with Battery became slower.

Still, I found myself wondering what exactly we were supposed to do. Later, as Assault was signing autographs, I asked Battery while I leaned against her motorcycle.

"Part of it is prevention." She explained, smiling just a bit at Assault ruffling a brown kid's hair. "If we're out in the open, the average gangster doesn't cause trouble, and normal civilians feel safer."

"That makes sense." I said, though I'd already figured that part out. "But shouldn't we be helping people? Stopping fires and saving people from car crashes."

"We leave that part to the police and other emergency services." Battery sighed. "If we see something obvious of course, we stop it. But we're primarily a _parahuman_ policing organization. If we ended up doing the jobs normal people can do, we'll get accused of taking work from others."

Welp. That sucks. I mean, I'd guessed that was the case, but it was still lame.

I didn't say anything for the next few minutes. Assault cut off the autographing, taking one final photo and coming over to join us. As he walked, I finally decided to speak again, ready to share one of my long-term ideas.

"What if—"

I was cut off by our radios.

" _Assault, Battery."_ The voice was calm, professional. _"We have reports of Empire 88 and ABB members battling it out near the boardwalk. No report of parahuman activity, but civilians are confirmed on scene. Panacea and Glory Girl are assisting."_

"On our way Central!" Battery revved up her bike, then looked at me, hesitant.

I could tell what she was thinking. I was just supposed to be patrolling with them. Getting an idea of protocol, of how things would go down. Not jumping into a brawl between two gangs on my first day. As I stared at her, she opened her mouth, ready to tell me to go.

"If you guys go, I'm following you." Her mouth clicked close at my words. She looked at me, concern on her face.

"You could get hurt." She said. "We still don't know how tough you are. If this goes wrong, you might die. Are you prepared for that?"

For a minute, the thought consumed me. Both the Empire and ABB had some skilled parahumans under their command. The kinds of people who had not only faced guys tough as me, but might have killed a few. If I went, I might face my first true challenge since coming here.

Never in my life had I had so much trouble hiding a smile.

Instead I went for a firm nod. Battery searched my face, then nodded back, placing her motorcycle helmet on. I looked at Assault, who looked serious for once as he looked back at me. He turned away.

"Central." He said simply. "We're taking the new guy along."

They spun out. I crouched slightly, letting them get a head-start. Then I pushed off my back foot. The world slowed down. In seconds, I was leaping into the sky, leaving the concrete jungle below me as two motorcycles roared, and I started roofhopping.

-

On my first night here, I'd used my scent of smell to track down Merchants. Since then, I hadn't stopped using my nose to mark things out. It was weird, I was far more used to using my eyes as my primary form of information gathering, and human minds just aren't wired for it. But until I could sense ki, my nose was my best way of tracking people down.

PRT Guards smelled like gunpowder, metal, Kevlar, and a stale scent I assumed was containment foam. Assault smelled like deodorant and chocolate chip cookies. Battery also smelled like cookies, with an added hint of lavender.

Those were generalizations of course, scent changes based on things like emotion after all. When I'd joked that I was going to take down the PRT and Protectorate from the inside earlier, the superheroes had an intense scent about them. Maybe I'd be able to tell the emotions out from each other one day.

Still, I had enough experience to start using my nose as we moved. It was hard. I had to stop at brief intervals so the rushing wind wouldn't carry the scent away too quickly. Leaping down to street level to take a whiff of the air worked out though.

Gunpowder was a common scent in Brockton. So was sweat. The emotional scents I got were recent however.

" _We need to go—"_

"Left." I interrupted Assault. I didn't leap up to roof, instead going for a full scent. I stuck to the streets, dodging cars as I buzzed through the street. When I got to an intersection, the light in front of me went red. I continued to sprint forwards as the cars in front of me began to stop. Then I hopped forward, on the roof of some guy's German car, then higher to leap over the intersection before continuing my run.

" _Defiant, slow down!"_

"If I do, people could die!" I said. "I promise not to be reckless, but I can go faster running than you guys can driving!"

" _It's Velocity all over again."_ Assault sighed.

" _Fine!"_ Battery announced. _"Keep us informed, and make sure Glory Girl and Panacea know you're on their side."_

The sound of two engines roaring filled my ears before the radio cut off. I smirked slightly.

"Finally. Let's do this!"

The world blurred even further, and I finally used my full running speed. I speed past cars, leaping over them when necessary, the wind in my wake blowing through Brockton Bay's streets. Soon though, the streets became emptier. The sounds of gunfire and loud yelling filled the air as I sped closer. A police siren made me detour to my right. I cut through an alleyway, the trash inside flying away in the gust of my passing.

Once I left the alleyway, I saw what was going on. The whole thing was taking place in the parking lot of a mall. The copper scent of blood filled my nose as I crossed a street and hopped over a fence. Cars were riddled with bullets, and the crack of gunfire was deafening. The lot was huge, and I guess it had been a busy day, because the place was full. Groans of pain, screams, and roars of anger could be heard under the gunfire. For a moment, I felt like I was entering a warzone.

As I ran in a young woman was screaming. I rushed in between a beat up convertible and jeep towards her voice, before spotting her. She had black hair pulled back into braids and dark skin, dressed in casual clothing. A bald guy had her by the shirt. She screamed again, tears in her eyes, struggling to get away. He laughed as he pressed a knife to her throat.

The sound he made when I grabbed his arm and pulled him away to throw him into the air was funny. The sound he made when he slammed into a car's windshield was even funnier.

"Head that way!" I yelled at the woman. "There are more Protectorate on the way, but you need to get to safety!"

"R-Right!" She said, staring up at me in shock.

I ran back into combat.

An Asian man wearing red and green punched a bald white woman in the face, sending a spray of blood into the air. She replied with a knife, slashing out at his throat as she screeched like a banshee.

She was stopped when I ran up to the pair and grabbed them both by their arms. Then, I squeezed, trying to be careful. Too hard and their bones would become splinters between my fingers. Too weak and nothing would happen. Two loud cracks filled the air, and both man and woman screamed.

"Sorry!" I yelled, pulling their arms in. "But I don't have time to be gentle!" As they were dragged towards me, I brought my hands in front of their faces. "Go to sleep!" I flicked their foreheads. The pair went flying. As they were in mid-air I ran to the Asian man. Out cold. A run to the white woman showed the same thing.

Thank god I hadn't cracked their skulls. I'd been emulating Alexandria, trying to match the amount of strength she used on unpowered opponents that had fought her, before her fame made sure to let everyone know what a dumb idea that was. Satisfied, I ran deeper into the parking lot.

"This is Defiant, I've gotten to the battle zone." I said into my earbud, trying to sound professional as I ran. "Parking lot in front of," I looked at a sign. "The Bay Mall, ABB and Empire are here. No sign of parahuman activity, and I haven't seen Glory Girl and Panacea."

I moved next to an Asian guy with a pistol, and swept his leg. "I've engaged both gangs. Civilians on the ground." I flicked the ABB in the forehead, having to do it again when he refused to go out, and smashed his pistol under my boot. "Both have guns. Could use help here to get the civilians out."

" _Copy that! Be there in five!"_ Assault said.

For the next few seconds, I ran from person to person, breaking limbs, and flicking people. Then they noticed me, and both groups pointed guns at the blur in their midst.

"Shit!" That was all I could say.

I noticed a small family, what I guessed to be a mom, her teenage son, and young daughter, had ducked down next to a four door sedan. Good thinking, getting into cover, but now they were in the path of the gunfire aimed at me.

I got in between the three of them and the gunfire, using my large bulk to spread my arms wide and protect them. What felt like raindrops hit my back for a long time as I looked down at the three redheads.

"You know," I said conversationally. "Red hair is really rare these days. It's reclusive genetic trait, so seeing it on the three of you is very cool. Looks good."

The mom didn't know how to respond to that. The teen stared at me like I was crazy. And the little girl just stared at me, eyes wide and the beginnings of a smile on her face.

The raindrops stopped.

"Okay, hold on to each other, and support each others necks! I'm going to be carrying you, and moving at high speed carries the risk of whiplash!" They stared a bit more. "Move, now!"

They immediately clutched each other. As soon as they were good, I grabbed them with both arms and rushed away.

I ended up next to the black woman from earlier and gently put down the three redheads. "Stay close!"

A quick sprint brought me to a blue pickup truck. I got behind it and pushed it, the wheels squealing. The truck was pushed in front to the four civilians, acting as cover. I went to a minivan, then another sedan, until I had a makeshift wall. Then I tipped them over so the roofs were facing the action, some of the windows shattering.

"Okay, just stay behind the engine blocks!" Unlike in the movies, a car door does not block bullets very well.

"O-Okay!" The redhead teen said, his voice cracking a bit. He said something else, but I was already running back into the fight, rage filing me.

I had saved four people. But there were a lot more that had ended up corpses. I could see around six. Most from bullets, but two of them from stab wounds. As I ran, I found one more, a black man. His head had been beaten in, his brains on the pavement of the parking lot.

Pushing down the sick feeling within me, I grabbed onto that rage that felt so natural and used it as my center, as something to guide me.

The Empire guys seemed to have a love SMG's, which gave them priority. I didn't want a single one of those bullets going astray and killing someone else. I had no idea what the penetration was on whatever guns they had, but I'd heard enough stories about people getting shot by stray bullets while relaxing in their apartment.

"I just got this costume." I said sadly when about fifteen bullets tore through my new gi.

It took a few seconds to speed in front of a screaming skinhead and slap him in the face, breaking his jaw on the back of my hand. There was a brief moment when I realized that the bullets didn't seem to have the impact that had when I'd gotten shot by the Merchants before, but I discarded the thought in favor of focusing.

An enormous Asian with big butcher's knife screamed as he ran up, apparently uncaring of the gunfire still pointed at me. His scream went from rage to shock when I ran at him with my super-speed and grabbed the front of his shirt. Thinking back to my lesson with the PRT Guard, I twisted his shirt in my hands, pulled him over my hip, then pushed him away with a 'gentle' palm that shattered something in the left side of his chest. He went flying into two of his friends.

I sped up to two teenage girls, both brunette, both wearing way too little clothes, one crying as the other tried to put pressure on a bullet wound in her arm. They were light as a feather as I lifted them up in my arms, and ran over to the makeshift barricade I'd made, keeping their heads against my chest to prevent whiplash again. I lowered them down gently, noting that the black woman now had her cell phone out, pointing it towards me. I wondered about that, but rushed out to fight again.

I was feeling something between excitement and nervousness. Running around at super-speed, knocking people out and breaking limbs, bullets bouncing off me as I saved people. A gangly teen in a cashiers uniform, an old man with a grim face protecting his grandson with his body, a woman who held a can of pepper spray in terrified hands.

As my blood pumped through my veins, I pushed myself faster, harder, trying to save as many as I could. I found myself praying that the smell of fresh blood in the air wasn't getting stronger, that more people weren't dying.

Another two guys jumped at me as I ran, one a skinny white guy, the other a slightly bigger one, both lashing out with baseball bats. The anger I'd been feeling roared at the sight of brain matter on the bigger man's bat.

I took a step back, forcing the two to overextend. Then, using Crane's flowing movements combined with Alexandria's overwhelming power, I put my palms against the wooden bats. Then I pushed, forcing the two's swings to slam into each other's heads. As they reeled back, I kicked the bigger skinhead, following through to make sure he slammed into his friend. A few quick punches and I'd shattered the bones on the bigger man's legs and arms. Wouldn't kill him, but I damn well made sure nothing short of Panacea would let the asshole walk again.

Another burst of speed brought me to the Empire lunatics that had been shooting at me. One of the lifted his SMG to fire at my face. I responded by grabbing the gun with both hands and shattering it with a squeeze.

Things froze for a moment. I stared down at the short Neo-Nazi. He looked down at the gun in his hands, which now had two dents in the shape of my palms on the surface. Then he looked up at me. The sharp scent of urine filled my nose as I stared down at him. His fear was an even sharper smell.

And god it made me feel all sorts of badass.

"Get wrecked, ya Nazi Bitch." I flicked his forehead. As he flew back, I ran to the next person shooting me, then the next, shattering each gun they held, then alternatively flicking their foreheads or breaking their arms.

" _We're here!"_ Battery's voice filled my ear.

Happiness filled me. I heard the superhero pair's motorcycles in both my ear buds and the air. The radio cut out. A second later Battery was next to me, moving at super-speed with the circuit lines pn her costume glowing.

"Sup." I told her brightly, flicking another woman in the forehead and letting her drop.

"It looks like both gangs have been recruiting." She said as she came to a stop.

There was a sudden scramble of noise behind us. It was a shock when we saw that a bald guy grabbed a little kid and pointed a gun at his head. "Back off."

There was a weird moment. I hadn't even noticed the man. He had a swastika tattoo on his bicep, and was wearing a wife beater shirt. His eyes were wide, hand tight on the gun in his hand. The kid was around twelve. He was wearing an Armsmaster shirt, and looking terrified. The guns barrel was pressing tightly against his forehead. My own reaction surprised me.

"Are you serious right now?" I asked in an annoyed tone.

"Fuck yeah I am, camel humper!" He said with a panicked giggle.

"Huh, honestly haven't heard that one before." I mumbled to Battery. She ignored me, having a far more appropriate response to the hostage situation.

"Let the kid go, and this won't go badly for you." She said calmly. "You don't want his death on your hands."

"Fuck off!" He didn't make the mistake of pointing the gun away from the kid.

He did make the mistake of not looking behind him, allowing Assault to reach out and grab his gun. The Nazi panicked and fired. The kid flinched and screamed. Assault tapped the guys shoulder, and a loud crack of noise sounded out as the guy screamed in pain. As he let go of the kid and released the gun, the bullet that had been fired fell out of the barrel and tinked on the floor.

I realized what happened after a quick bit of thought. Assault must have used his ability to absorb the momentum of the bullet as it fired, then redirected it into a tap into the guys shoulder.

Badass.

"You okay kid?" Assault asked, dropping to one knee to take the kid by the shoulder. As the kid nodded, his eyes widened at the sight of six ABB guys running towards us.

Then I was among the six. They must have seen the blur come towards them, because they started swinging. When I noticed Battery running alongside me I shifted to the focus on the three to my right. One, just a teenager with a black t-shirt really, had a pistol, so I grabbed that before he could fire and squished it in one hand. My other hand lashed out and flicked a short guy wearing glasses in the forehead, while I threw the remains of the gun at a guy who looked like he worked out. The third guy still managed to hit me in the head with an aluminum bat, which actually hurt a bit, but in a dull ache kind of way.

I smacked my last two opponents in the head, and turned to look at Battery as my opponent fell to the ground. I'd actually been curious about her. Of all the heroes I could think off, she was the only one I'd met that had a similar power set to my own. Given a few minutes to charge, she would have super-speed, strength, and durability. Like me, but with a time limit.

And she did not fail to impress. She'd obviously been trained, and I devoured her movements as she sped in for the attack. One of the three ABB guys had a rifle, something my dad would have had, and he sighted it on her. Battery smacked it upwards, the gun firing into the air, then punched him in the chest. As he gasped in pain, one of his friends, a big tan guy with his hair in a Mohawk, kicked out at her. She grabbed his kicking leg in her right hand and swept the other out from under him, letting his head smack into the floor.

The last guy was actually a girl, a tall thin young woman. She had what looked like a fake katana in her hand. Battery looked at the young Asian woman. The woman looked back at her. Then she turned the katana around and held it out. Battery took it, and the young woman held out her hands to be handcuffed with a sad look on her face.

"Hey Kong." Assault told me casually. "You should check out the other side of the parking lot. There should be more fighting Glory Girl."

"Should we really be separating again?" Battery asked. I wondered why she sounded so tired, but maybe it had just been a long day.

"I'll be all right." I told her.

"Yeah, Kong can handle himself. Not like anybody else around here is kung fu fighting." Assault said with a grin.

"And compared to them, I'm fast as—"

"Just," Battery sighed, looking tired again. "Just go. We'll take care of the other civilians."

"…Lightning." I finished. Then I lowered into a crouch, looking over at the ABB woman. "Hope you get out of jail soon! Try to be something more badass than a gangster."

She stared at me, tears still in her eyes, but looking more bewildered than sad. "Uh… sure?"

I gave her a smile before jumping up towards the sky.


	6. Chapter 6

As my leap took me to the other side of the lot, where a group of three Empire 88 guys had ganged up on a single ABB guy. He'd been on the ground as they stomped on him, crying out. I landed next to them, the concrete shattering beneath my combat boots. I was surprised when one swung around and fired his SMG at me, going for center mass. It didn't hurt, but it had enough force to push me back a step.

"Bring it on towelhead!" He roared, the SMG roaring.

"Sure, make it easy to hate you." I sighed, unheard under the sound of the gun.

There was a brief moment when I wondered just why I was taking being shot so well. A day before I would have freaked. Maybe I was disassociating or something?

Regardless, I took a step to my right at super-speed, getting out of the way. Mr. SMG tried to track my movement, but I was already in his face. I copied Battery this time, using the same amount of force she did to punch my opponent in the chest. I overdid it slightly, the sound of a fist breaking bone was louder for me, but he passed out regardless. The last two got an Alexandria forehead flick.

Patent pending.

I took a moment to check on the ABB guy. He was heavily beaten, but I guessed he would survive, barring any internal injuries. I'd probably get first aid training later, but for now I decided I had to trust what little I remembered from the course I'd taken in high school.

"Hey dragonbreath!" A female voice called out as I rose to my feet.

"Eh?"

The answer to my confusion came in a white flash. Then a fist slammed into my cheek, followed by pain. More than I'd felt the entire fight.

I flew back into a minivan's side doors, the metal bending under me and the car squealing as it was forced back. A kids toy squeaked a moment later, rolling out of a hole created by the large dent I was now sitting in. I blinked, slowly, glass bouncing on my head.

"…The fudgenipples?" I raised my head.

A young blonde floated in front of me. She was gorgeous, with bright blue eyes and a fantastic figure that somehow combined supermodel beauty with strength. She was wearing a white shirt that bared her arms, a skirt that showed her legs off up to her boots, and a white cape. Her entire outfit was trimmed with gold. She also wore a tiara, which threw me for some reason.

She glared down at me, though there was a cockiness to that glare. Like she was less angry and more confident she could handle whatever came next with ease.

I immediately discarded my confusion for anger, something that came a lot easier than I expected.

"What the hell was that for!?" I yelled, pushing myself up to rub my cheek. "Do you punch everyone who helps you fight bad guys!?"

"Huh?" The young woman blinked, taking a closer look. "Wait, I thought you were Lung?"

"How did you make that mistake!?" I asked, now confused again. "Do we look alike or something?"

For all I knew we did. I'd never actually seen the guy after all. Though I imagine the Protectorate would have mentioned something… Wait, wouldn't Lung have silver scales in battles?

"I had dust in my eyes!" She yelled back. "My bad, God!"

More guns shot at us. Bullets bounced off us both, and I sighed. "Look, I'm just starting out, so I get not knowing if I was here to help, but maybe we can discuss this later?"

"Yeah, yeah all right." She seemed a bit embarrassed, but not as much as I felt she should have been. "Maybe cool it with dragons next time though."

"Eh?" I looked down at myself. Most of my shirt had holes, but the various blue dragons on my orange vest were clear to see.

I understood then. She'd seen a guy wearing a shirt with dragons on it beating up Empire guys, and the Empire had been fighting the ABB, who had the dragon motif thanks to Lung… Huh. So she'd actually attacked someone who could have been Lung?

Damn, Glory Girl has cajones.

"Fine," I said, still miffed even as I felt awed at the thought I was talking to _Glory Girl_. Damn, what a day to be a geek. Though I was still confused by the mistaken identity. I didn't even have tattoos.

"Let's just—"

The wind, which had been picking up as we talked, suddenly became stronger. The Empire guys started cheering, and the ABB took cover. Before I could wonder what was going on, the car Glory Girl had punched me into suddenly went skittering away as the wind pushed it.

ABB guys yelled out when hurricane force winds focused in on them, sending them flying into cars, a few slamming into walls and trees. Bloody cuts appeared on their skin.

"Stormtiger!" Glory Girl yelled, having to raise her voice over the sound of the wind picking up.

I'd guessed that. I didn't know a lot about him, only that he tended to work with Hookwolf a lot. Which meant we could have two parahumans on the warpath. More if other ones came, especially considering the ABB might have called to ask for help from Lung and Oni Lee.

What the hell was going on? I hadn't heard of things going this crazy before Taylor got into her costume! Maybe this an average thing in Brockton Bay? Or had my mere existence changed how things would go? Why were things going so damn pear-shaped?

I activated my speed, and looked around the area. I saw him immediately, standing between two. He wore a white tiger mask. No hair, like the other Empire guys. He was extremely pale, tall, and musclebound, something easy to tell because he was also shirtless, with some chains hanging on his loose fitting pants. He looked over at me, eyes narrowing as he did.

"I see him."

Suddenly the air around his fists seemed to shimmer. The chains around him lifted up into the air, and the wind that had filled the parking lot on his arrival picked up again. He punched both hands towards Glory Girl and me. I dug my feet into the ground on instinct. A sudden explosion of air sent me back a step, and pain, less than when Glory Girl hit me, but pain nonetheless, came from my chest as orange filled my vision.

"Guess he saw you too." Glory Girl quipped, apparently unhurt, though she'd been thrown back by Stormtiger's attack. Then she looked over at me, panned her eyes down, and smirked. "Nice."

"Eh?" I looked down and realized where the orange that had filled my vision had come from. "Oh come on!"

Another destroyed shirt. Seriously?

"Okay, I'm taking him out." I growled, grabbing what remained of my gi and ripping it off.

Stormtiger wound up again, and a blast of air came at me. I punched outward, grinning just a bit as the air slammed into my fist and exploded. His other fist lashed out, and the blast of air was far 'harder', enough to force me to backflip to bleed off the extra force.

"Assault, Battery, Stormtiger is here, more possibly incoming!" I yelled. "Moving in to engage, get the civilians out!"

 _"Negative Defiant!"_ Battery yelled back. _"Stormtiger is an experienced parahuman, and his allies are the same, they will kill you if given the chance!"_

I only had one thing to say to that.

"YOLO!" For some reason I felt more confident than ever. I felt like I could do anything.

Another blast of air slammed into my chest, and I was sent flying into a wall. The brick shattered under me, and I coughed up some dust. Glory Girl roared as she flew in towards Stormtiger, dodging and ducking his attacks. There was a sort of grace to her flight.

She flew down towards Stormtiger. A gust of wind, thick enough to be seen as a pale shimmer, slammed into her side as she punched, diverting her to the side. Her fist was imbedded into pavement next to Stormtiger. He wound up and unleashed another blast of razor wind. It didn't seem to affect her that much, but the pavement around her cracked.

"Damn." I said softly. "So that's what a superhero fight looks like in real life."

Glory Girl pulled her fist out of the concrete and fly upwards in a blur of white. Stormtiger lashed his hands out, snarling as claw-like bursts of air tried to slice Glory Girl apart. She laughed happily, somersaulting through the air.

"Bitch!" Stormtiger snarled.

"Nazi Prick!" Glory Girl yelled.

He was distracted. Stormtiger was still trying to bring down Glory Girl, though there was a fearful urgency to his attacks now. I remembered Glory Girl had an aura that affected people around her, which explained it. She must have been a fear aura on him.

I got up and rushed forward, roaring.

Stormtiger saw me coming, though I must have been a blur at this point. He sent another blast of air at me, a hard blade of translucent air slicing towards me. I dodged easily, pushing on the speed, and rushed straight at him. He raised his arms, air swirling into the shapes of pale translucent claws, and swept them down at me.

The rage that filled me when the blades of air slammed into me and exploded was something horrific. My teeth clenched against the pain, and only kept from being thrown back by jamming my fingers into the concrete beneath me.

"Damn brutes." Stormtiger growled. "Just die!"

"Not before I shove that mask up your—"

My words were interrupted by another storm, but this time I was ready. I leaped up, aiming at someone in particular. My hop took me over the blades, and the explosion of air sent me further. The white figure I'd aimed for stopped in the middle of her attack, shocked.

"Catch me and throw me back!" I yelled at a wide-eyed Glory Girl.

She was on the ball, grabbing my outstretched arm. She spun around then released me in a hammer throw. I landed on the pavement in roll copied from something Legend did when he landed on the move. Super-speed let me out-pace Stormtiger's next attack, and I came at in him in a zigzag pattern. He tried to track me.

The next attack went left. An errant shopping card was torn apart, shreds of metal bouncing off the pavement, slashing Stormtigers skin and bouncing off mine.

I juked right, slid past him in a textbook Tai Chi step-forward, then turned around and grabbed him by the arm. Air slammed into my chest again, and he frantically tried to direct currents to push me away. He couldn't have known that Crane the Harmonious was capable of something similar, and so had a counter to that move. Or at the very least he didn't know that I learned from her.

All it took was stepping forward while the attack came, twisting your chest so the air currents simply tapped against my chest, rather than blowing me away. His arm was still in my grasp as I spun around, dragging him along and up high in the air, before slamming him headfirst into the ground, his scream of pain and shock getting cut off in an instant. The whole thing was done at super-speed, so by the time his skull bounced off concrete his air blast had blown up in front of us. I might have given him whiplash, but I didn't think I'd mind that too much.

"Damn, you are fast as hell." Glory Girl announced as she landed next to me.

"Not something guys like to hear from pretty girls." I noted off-handedly.

"Ha!" Glory Girl chuckled, then looked up as Assault and Battery came over. "Oh, what's up!"

"Damn, you guys took out Stormtiger?" Assault said. His armor looked a little scuffed, but he had a devil may cry grin on his face and blood on the knuckles of his glove.

"No other supervillains came?" I asked, ignoring the looks Assault and Battery were giving the downed Nazi. The parking lot had gone quiet, and I couldn't see anyone but civilians looking around the area. It reminded me of footage I'd seen of a town after a tornado, with shell-shocked faces, destroyed concrete, and overturned cars.

"Not as far as we can tell." Battery frowned. "Which is weird. I can't remember the last time Stormtiger went out without Hookwolf."

"Maybe they broke up?" Assault suggested with a smirk.

"Sad when you can't believe in true love anymore." I joked.

Glory Girl snorted, and Battery gave us an annoyed look, though it looked like she was struggling not to smile.

"One sec." I ran as fast as I could, covering as much of the parking lot as possible, then running around to the back, before returning to the others after about a minute. "Lots of injured, lots of dead, but no more hostiles."

"Guess we missed the action." Battery said as she finished hand-cuffing Stormtiger.

"And the highlight reel." Assault added. He handcuffed an ABB member, who started cussing when Assault jostled his arms. "How many limbs did you two break?"

"Hey, I did most of my stuff over there!" Glory Girl declared, pointing at the other side of the parking lot. "These are his."

"So how many arms did you break?" I asked her.

"More than you I bet." She said proudly.

"I could always add a pair." I threatened good-naturedly.

"Bring it." She lifted her arms, miming a punch at me with a wide grin.

"How did you lose your shirt dude?" Assault asked, interrupting me and Glory Girl joking.

"Well I saw Stormtiger didn't bring his, and I felt left out." - 


	7. Chapter 7 Interlude

Amy Dallon sat in her chair, staring in a strange sort of shock as the man with a monkey tail left. She sat for a moment, trying to think even as her mind kept stalling.

Inhuman. That person had been inhuman. He'd seemed so normal at first. Spiky black hair that somehow pointed up and curled down at the same time. Brown tanned skin, and bright chocolate eyes over a slightly too large nose. He was very large, with the mass she usually saw in more physically fit people, though that was diminished by his injuries.

Then she touched him. At first, his DNA was strange. She let her power 'flow' into his body, touching on every cell, avoiding the brain on instinct. He felt similar to humans. Same number of organs, same basic build. But his body was very different at a basic level. For one thing it was as if his skin, bones, and muscle were made of something stronger than any human beings. If every human in existence was made of bronze, he would have been titanium. That was odd, because brutes tended to have something that gave them their strength almost as a side effect, like her sister's forcefield, or Uncle Neil AKA Manp Maybe he was a Case 53?

Then she noticed he had no corona pollentia. She hadn't even been looking for it, but its absence seemed to scream out to her. In every parahuman she'd ever encountered, some form of the part of the brain that allowed superpowers existed. Until now. Which could make him a Case 53.

Then she'd healed him. And her world changed.

It had been so simple. Find the parts that allowed natural healing, and push them to accelerate, sacrificing fat as fuel. The process was far more complex than that of course, but to her it was the simplest way to explain it. Of course, that had been when her powers suddenly seemed to scream at her.

Power. Pure and unmitigated power. An ocean in a storm. Her powers were taken up and swept into it as she felt the dam within the man collapse. She could feel it. Life itself, that spark within every living being on the planet, only this was less a spark and more like a thunderstorm exploding across the skies.

That was how she felt. Like a child standing in a field, watching in awe as the raw beauty of lighting above her took her breath away. So much life, stretching out into the distance, crackling across the skies, creating goosebumps against the skin, leaving chills even as it warmed.

Then it was over. The vast majority, an infinite amount of power, faded away. Within the man, a mere drop of that life remained. But a drop of infinity is a massive amount.

And now she sat in her chair, unable to understand what she'd seen. Ever since she'd gotten her powers, she'd felt like they could go out of control at any moment. That she had to limit herself, be careful. She kept to a rigid set of rules, rules meant to protect others. And she was starting to get a handle on them, or so she'd thought.

But now, it was as if her powers had gotten a boost. She could feel the life around her now. As if the man had become a catalyst, she felt the same spark all around her. Weak in most cases but it was there, pulsing in what must have been a twenty foot space around her.

It was so beautiful. How hadn't she seen it before? That piece in every person that radiated energy and power that pulsed with warmth, with energy? How do you explain color to a man who has been blind all his life? Because that was how she felt. As though sensing the life all around her was not just some new aspect of her power, but an entirely new sense.

Then, a pulse came from within herself. She gasped. The pulse came again, then settled down. Her powers didn't work on herself. That was one of her weaknesses. Which meant she couldn't scan herself. So this new power wasn't connected to her original one? Had she triggered again?

A new pulse of life, larger than the others, came inside her range. She tried to focus in on it, her practice with using her original powers to sift between injuries giving her enough experience to do so, if clumsily. The new pulse was coming from the sky. Soon it was at the door, and rushing in.

"Ames!" Her sister came in, as stunning as ever, to Panacea's extremely guilty pleasure. "Where is he!?"

Victoria Dallon was tall, blonde, and gorgeous. She also had a talent for violence, and a mind brilliant enough to be creative about it. Her sapphire eyes glittered as she looked around, ruby lips curled as she looked around.

"Who?" She blinked, having been staring at Vicky with more interest than usual thanks to being so thrown off by the new revelations of the last few minutes, then smiled. "Oh yeah. He left a while ago. He was nice."

"Nice?" Vicky calmed down, turning to look at her sister. "Ames, what happened?"

Her poor sister looked so confused. But all Panacea could feel was that pulse of life in her sister. So big. Not as big as the man's, but larger than the civilians outside. And beautiful. "He was… so much." Amy said, dazed. "And he had a tail."

"A… tail?" Vicky cocked her head to the side, fists unclenching.

"A long monkey tail."

"…Ames, is that innuendo? Because I'm still kicking that guy's ass if it is."

What?

The mousy young woman blinked. Then her freckled cheeks went a brilliant shade of red. "Vicky! Nothing happened! He really had a monkey tail!"

"Oh." The blonde powerhouse sounded disappointed for some reason. "So, Monkey Cape? As a cape name?"

"I…" Amy rested her face in her hands and sighed. "That's a terrible name."

"What's wrong with Monkey Cape?" Vicky asked, smirking at her sister. Then she frowned. "And by the way, what the hell with being here in the first place!? You're supposed to be resting!"

Amy winced. "Yeah. I will. Just… a few more people?"

Vicky stared at her sister thoughtfully. Then she nodded. "Yeah, okay. But we need to talk about you coming out her so late. And talk about the Monkey Cape later."

"But not to mom." Amy said desperately.

Vicky scoffed, smiling once more. "Course not." She used her best gangsta voice. "I ain't nevah narced on nobody!"

Amy smiled back. Even as she did, the pulsing warmth of life around her continued. She saw it in everyone, including the father and daughter pair that came in next as Vicky stood next to her like a bodyguard.

And it was beautiful. For the first time in a while, she found herself truly invested in her healing, rather than going through the motions.

It had been worrying her for a while. She felt so indifferent these days. Simply healing people over and over, not really caring if they lived or died. It had started to worry her.

Now though, she could feel the light inside them. Some larger than others, but all with a different 'taste'. The way they suddenly swelled after a healing never failed to amaze her. She despaired that without being able to share the power, she'd never be able to explain why it amazed her so.

For now, she healed, and enjoyed the warm flicker of her sister's life beside her.

And in subspace, a shard of something bigger began to learn.

-

Assault wasn't known for being the deepest or most conniving thinker. Except for those who really knew him. As Madcap, he spent hours planning before actually moving on a target. He didn't like to advertise it, his life tended to be a lot more fun these days. But you didn't survive as a hero without being damn smart, and he could still put his head to figuring out problems.

Gohan was not really a problem. Assault liked the younger man. He was fun, had a good sense of humor, and was pretty relaxed. But he was also a mystery. On the surface, he seemed like an honest guy. But anyone who watched him, spoke to him, could tell there was something under the surface.

Assault had brought him to a small conference room. Gohan was working at his new laptop, a pair of earphones plugged into it as he stared intently at the screen. He typed at regular intervals. As he worked, his lips would move slightly, as though he was reciting a prayer. Assault looked at him thoughtfully.

When Gohan had gotten his official rating, Assault and Battery had immediately been called in to Piggot's office.

-

"You are to watch him closely." Emily Piggot said seriously as she sat behind her desk.

Assault frowned. "Is that really necessary? He seems cool."

"I agree." Battery said as well. Armsmaster was there as well, standing next to Piggot. "From the recordings we've gotten, and response now, he's pretty normal, as parahumans go at least. And he does want to work with us."

"And if it's genuine, I'm going to feel foolish for my paranoia." Piggot said. "But I've always thought feeling foolish is better than feeling dead."

"You weren't me at my high school reunion then." Assault quipped.

"He is **powerful**." Armsmaster told the pair. "On the higher end of the scale for Brute and Mover ratings, a low Thinker rating that only makes his other abilities more useful, an apparent familiarity with his abilities, and it's possible he'll only get stronger."

"Don't forget the monkey thing!" Assault added.

"Yes, let's not forget that." Piggot said. "Which leaves the question. How does he know for certain about it? Have we heard of any Endbringer-style attacks happening on the full moon?"

"Maybe he was in an isolated area?" Battery asked.

"Maybe." Piggot said. "But as of now, that can be ignored. I'll be talking to some surgeons about amputating his tail, as according to him that will prevent the change. But as of now, we have a parahuman with a mysterious past and plenty of power. I would like to make sure he is on the up and up. To that end," She looked directly at Assault. "Watch him. If he turns out to be a sleeper agent, then we find out who he's working for. If not, then as I said, I will hopefully only feel foolish."

"…who do you think he could be working for?" Assault asked.

If Piggot was thrown off by Assault's seriousness, she didn't show it. "Some of the think tank have their bet on Crane. He fits her martial artist motif at least. But if he has anything to do with her, it would at most be as a former student. Subterfuge is just not her style. There is no way he is ABB or Empire 88 material, given his ethnicity, and the Merchants are not the 'long-term' types. He might belong to some other crew, or an outside source, but that just gives us too many options.

"Really, this whole thing is only a problem because he has no corona pollentia, appeared out of nowhere with no history and clear familiarity with his powers. Without those three issues, he'd be an immediate win." Piggot sighed, the fat on her chin jiggling. "So watch him. Make sure he isn't a threat."

"Wait, go back." Battery said. "He doesn't have a corona pollentia? I thought that was impossible for parahumans?"

"Apparently not." Piggot said. "There are some theories. But for now, it's yet another mystery."

-

"Oh come on!" Assault was brought out of his thoughts by Gohan's frustrated yell.

"What's up man?" He asked.

"I just realized why I was having so much trouble with that Tai Chi video." Gohan sighed. "I guess I should have thought of it, but it was almost too stupid to consider—"

"You were having trouble?" Assault asked skeptically. "The way the eggheads were talking you had it mastered."

"Yeah, I did." Gohan turned his laptop around so Assault could see it. "But my powers had trouble making them fit. And now I know why. Look at this."

Amused by the anger in the other man's voice, Assault leaned down to look at the screen. On it was a video online of a man going through some martial arts movements.

"Okay, so what am I looking at?"

"Real Tai Chi." Gohan said. "As opposed to the hack who made that video. That's why I was having trouble. I was trying to follow movements that were thrown in to look good. I don't know the deal with that guy in the approved video, but this guy here is the real deal."

Before Assault could respond, the door opened. The pair looked up to see a blonde woman enter. As she came in, Assault considered what he'd just learned.

Apparently Gohan's powers could figure out the difference between real martial arts moves and someone waving their arms prettily. That was good news. Probably kept him from trying to copy something ridiculous.

Oh well. Probably something for the think tank to figure out.

For now, Assault would watch the other man. He seemed like an okay guy, didn't have the stick up his ass certain others did, and hell, was just plain a nice dude.

-

Armsmaster wasn't good with people. If Dragon or Militia ever knew he had that thought, they would probably accuse him of understating things (In between bouts of hysterical laughter of course). But he believed that flaw was one worth living with.

Still, even he knew he had a tendency to be harsh in his judgement of others. And when the parahuman named Gohan had come in, he couldn't help but dislike him on some level. It wasn't the man himself that bothered him. It was everything surrounding him.

First, he had no corona pollentia. The part of the brain known to produce superpowers was entirely absent to his helmet's software, meaning he should not have any powers at all. And yet, he did. The thinkers and lab techs had theorized that his powers had worked to create his body, with even his corona pollentia being replaced with something more efficient as part of the process. Regardless, it made him an oddity amongst parahumans. Except for Case 53's. If he was one, he was very lucky compared to most Colin had heard of. The tail marked him as one, and his claims of being able to turn into a large ape fit as well, but those were far less obvious than other 53's who often had far more obvious features that separated them from the rest of humanity.

Second, he was a mystery. A parahuman of immense power showing up out of nowhere wasn't unusual. One with no records at all was something else.

And finally, there were his powers.

Superhuman strength, speed, and durability, all of which would grow exponentially with time. Not to mention his ability to absorb martial arts skills in little to no time, allowing him to become a master with none of the hard work others had to go through.

Armsmaster prided himself on his hard work, on working night and day to become the best. He'd often gone without sleep to squeeze out that slightest bit of extra efficiency in his tech, or to protect his skills as a fighter.

And having yet another Parahuman who would get exponentially stronger overtime, with a fraction of the work he had to put in, just didn't sit right. First Dauntless, who everyone in the PRT agreed would one day reach Triumvirate levels of power with his ability to empower objects. And now Gohan, who would do the same with his own body.

It helped that the two were nothing alike. Gohan was far more relaxed than most parahumans. Dauntless always seemed smug, as though no matter what came he would be able to handle it. Gohan had a similar confidence, but it was somehow less challenging.

If Dauntless was a jock who seemed like he was moments from bullying someone, Gohan was the one who made friends with every clique in the school.

A dated analogy perhaps. School bullying wasn't a serious problem anymore. But it was one Armsmaster felt was appropriate for the situation.

In any case, Gohan was going out for his first patrol. It was just a dry run, but if things went wrong they would be able to get a better read on him.

As he considered the new situation inside the workroom he often worked on his halberds in, an alert came to his computer. He couldn't help the slight smile that came on his face when he recognized the alert. It disappeared quickly, but the feeling that produced it did not. He pressed the alert.

"Dragon."

"Colin." His fellow Tinker sounded happy, like she had good news. "Have you spoken to Kid Win today?"

"No, I haven't. I had no idea that you did."

"He reached out to me actually. Sent me a message through some of the PRT channels. I intercepted it. Apparently he's found his specialization."

Colin raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Chris had been having trouble with that for a while. It was the cause of his lack of focus when it came to his creations, leading to him often leaving things half-finished due to a lack of direction.

"And he sent a message to you?"

"Yes. Apparently someone suggested it." Dragon sounded hesitant. "Gohan."

Gohan?

"Did he say why?"

"No. All the message says is that Gohan's request helped him discover his specialization, and Gohan suggested I might be able to help him further with the designs. He apparently wasn't going to go to me, but when things went well…"

Gohan again. The new parahuman was once again proving to be a mystery. How did his request help Kid Win? Why suggest Dragon as a possible resource? She was known as the world's greatest tinker, but could there be more than that?

"I'll go visit him. Would you like to listen in?"

"If you don't mind."

-

"I swear Puppy, it's _this_ big!"

"I've seen Defiant's tail, you don't need to keep repeating that joke." Battery hid the smile that came with the pout her husband gave her. It surprised her sometimes, how much she now enjoyed the habits of her former rival. They used to annoy the crap out of her.

She was coasting along with Assault on their motorcycles, Gohan jogging alongside them. She couldn't help a bit of jealousy at his speed. She could technically get even faster, but she couldn't sustain it for anywhere as long. He also didn't seem to have the reduction in his ability to affect the world that Velocity did, though he did apparently need to eat about as much as a pack of bears to sustain his powers.

The younger man had proven to be a very relaxed sort. There was a running theory that he was either a second generation trigger or an older one, as he had displayed none of the psychological issues of most traits. Battery had her own ideas.

Gohan may have been a Cauldron serum user.

He had all of the traits of one. A large amount of powers for one. No real indications of the issues other capes had.

She had to wonder how he'd gotten a hold of a serum however. He had apparently been homeless before Assault found him. Had he traded for favors, like she had? If he had, then did he still owe any?

Battery tried to push aside the thought of what the favors might be. She'd had nightmares about it sometimes. The thought that another might be under the same Sword of Damocles as her was a sad one.

"So all I'm saying, is that pretty much all grenades are flash-bangs aren't they?" Gohan asked Assault.

"I don't know, I've seen some tinker-made bombs that don't do that." Assault said.

"Oh come on, those barely count!" Gohan scoffed. "They should call them something else. Like naked grandma grenades."

"Oh my god!" Assault yelped, horrified. "Why would you make me think of that!?"

"Because that thought, like flash-bangs, make you want to claw your eyes out."

Battery shuddered, sickened as Assault laughed while cursing the younger man.

At least the two were getting along. Assault had often despaired that he didn't really have anyone he could simply relax around on the Protectorate. It was good to see him having fun.


	8. Chapter 8

A PRT van rolled up later to start picking up the baddies. An ambulance came before that, followed by several others. Assault and Battery wanted to go back and report, but I couldn't help but feel we should do something to help with recovery. I had no idea why the other superhumans looked so surprised at the idea, but they agreed the instant I suggested it.

I ended up picking up cars off people alongside Glory Girl and Battery. I did a lot of the work by necessity. While Glory Girl and Battery were either strong enough or could become strong enough to match me, and Battery could become more than fast enough to outpace me at times, I had a stable balance of strength and speed to take advantage of.

That was soured by the fact that Glory Girl was _flying_. Now that I wasn't in combat, watching her swoop through the skies with a proud smile was both awesome, and damn galling. I resolved to learn how to master my ki as soon as possible.

Still, I had a lot to think about. One thing on my mind was new techniques. Watching the various parahumans in action had been amazing. Battery's charge up, Assault's kinetic absorbtion, Glory Girl's instinctive flight speed, and Stormtiger's air blasts. Some part of me burned to find out if they could be replicated. More than that, I wanted to see if they could become better, if I could teach others somehow. Battery's charge up was strong, but it bothered me that it could only work in short bursts. Stormtiger's blasts were great at long range, but they'd be even better if he used air currents to speed up his movements, or kept his claws to simply slash things at close range.

But how I was I to know how their powers worked? Did shards (Or Cauldron serums in Battery's case) have a lot of room for development across the range? Could they train and develop their powers? Or was there a cap? And hell, should I even try?

In the end, the fight against the Endbringers and Scion was coming. I'd made no plans to really face them other than getting strong enough myself. But what if I could take it a step further? Start training people, do more than rescue people like Dinah Alcott, Amy Dallon, and Taylor Hebert, by helping them become powerful to stand on their own?

Not to mention those who were in various stages of jeopardy right now. Theo Anders was still trapped in the Empire 88. Garrote was still in an insane asylum because she couldn't control her powers. Bonesaw was still under Jack Slash's thumb.

Though if the last was really in jeopardy or needed to get taken care of was up for debate.

I needed to start long-term planning. Stop thinking like Vegeta or Goku. Go for a different alien. Piccolo. The tactician, the guy who was hailed as the most conniving bastard in the Z-fighters. I needed to decide what to do about the greater threats I knew about, and begin tracks on seeing if I could train others up. Because as things were, a lot of shit was coming that I wouldn't be able to stop by just punching it to death.

I sighed, drawing a glance from Battery.

"You all right?" She asked me.

"Yeah, just thinking of what I have to do next."

The superheroine nodded, apparently understanding my mood, even if she didn't know the full details. She sped away when she noticed Assault trying to get an older man out of his car, leaving me to work.

I pushed another car out of the way so that the PRT could bring in another van to pick up some of the Empire guys. Glory Girl dropped down next me, an unconscious bald white man and Asian man in each hand.

"How did this all start?" I asked her, shocked at how many gangsters there seemed to be.

"Don't know," She said casually. "Me and my sister were shopping, then some ABB guys started acting tough with an Empire guy. I don't know why they were in the same territory, but the next thing I know I had to get costumed up."

At the mention of her costume I remembered something from earlier. "By the way," I looked her over. She didn't seem to mind, cocking a hip proudly and placing a fist on it as she smirked at me. "Why the tiara?"

"Huh?" She blinked, apparently not expecting my question, then reached up to touch her golden crown. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, just throws me for some reason." I said. "Looks good though. Plus maybe you can do a little moon tiara action." I mimed grabbing a tiara off my head and throwing it. "Get all Sailor Moon on bitches."

"The hell is Sailor Moon?" Glory Girl asked.

I wanted to explain the humor. Here I was, the closest thing to Goku in this universe, and I was trying to make Glory Girl my Sailor Moon. The nineties anime rivalry reborn.

"Vicky," Someone called out. "Where were you? You disappeared in the middle of everything."

We both turned, and a soft smile appeared on my face. Panacea.

She looked much the same as the last time I'd seen her, though she had obviously gotten some sleep since that time. She still looked exhausted, but the fact the ambulances seemed to only be carrying wounded gangsters in handcuffs told me why.

"Hey Ames!" Glory Girl hopped over to join her sister. I hung back, letting the two sisters chat.

"Defiant." Battery said, jogging up to me. "We got everyone squared away. The PRT are going to transport the unpowered gangsters to the police station. They want us to go with Stormtiger, make sure no one tries to break him out."

"Sounds good." I said.

"Good." She looked around. "Best we can guess, Stormtiger was supposed to give his people an escape route. The other Empire escaped in unmarked vehicles, so I'd say he came in with one of the others, they organized a retreat, and he was supposed to join them later."

"Why even start this though?" I looked to my right. Battery looked as well.

We both stared at body bags. Filled with civilians and gangsters alike. Maybe twenty-five in all. I'd never seen so many dead bodies. I didn't look over at the place I'd thrown up earlier. The sight of blood, brains, and the smell of voided bowels had forced me to speed over to a tree where no one could see me.

The sight of the bags being picked up and put into morgue vans sickened me further, but I pushed it away. Battery patted my shoulder, sighing a bit as we watched. Someone tapped my other shoulder, and I turned around to see the smiling Glory Girl.

"So, this is Panacea!" She said, twirling her cape aside to show her sister behind her. "Ames, this is—"

"You!" The small biomancer squeaked. Then she looked down, eyes widening, before bouncing her eyes up to stare very pointedly at my face.

"Sup." I said awkwardly, rubbing the back of my head. "How are you?"

"G-Good!" She stuttered, apparently unable to focus. "Where is your shirt?"

"Destroyed." I said. "Stormtiger apparently works for the fashion police, because the first thing he did was rip it apart."

"Wait, he hit you directly?" Battery asked, worried.

I was going to explain I was okay, but Glory Girl had a more important question on her mind.

"You know each other?" She stared between her sister and myself suspiciously.

"He's the guy, remember?" Amy whispered. Victoria stared at her sister blankly. "You know. When I called you to the clinic. The one with the…" She waved a hand behind her, trying to mimic my tail.

"Monkey Cape!" Glory Girl said, sounding delighted. "That's you?"

"What, did you tell everyone before me Kong?" Assault came up and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "I'm hurt."

My tail tightened around me in a comforting hug. I threw my head back and sighed.

"We live in a world of giant monsters, supermodels who can punch through steel, and little girls who can kick a grown man's ass with their thoughts. Me having a tail cannot be such a big deal."

"I was more talking about you turning into a giant monkey." Assault said.

"You can what!?" Glory Girl and Panacea said in unison, the former in awe and the latter in shock.

Suddenly Assault was yelping, trying not to move too much. Battery had his ear in a pincer grip, her face stern as she tugged. "Honey, let's not spit out everything about our friend before he can be announced, hmm?"

"Y-yes Puppy!" Assault said in a stammer of pain. Battery let go, and he immediately started rubbing his ear. "Damn! Should we talk about domestic abuse charges?"

Glory Girl and I watched the whole thing with wide grins on our faces.

"Excuse me?" I turned back to Panacea. She fidgeted slightly, but there was a strength in her eyes I had to approve of. "I need to ask you questions umm…" She looked up questioningly.

"Defiant or Kong for now." I told her. "Assault's called me both today."

"Kong." Panacea nodded slowly. "Can we talk in private?"

Intrigued, I gave her a nod. Glory Girl looked between us. "Ames…"

"It's okay Glory Girl." Panacea said firmly. "I just want to know something."

-

We walked over to a spot behind a van. Panacea seemed to concentrate, then nodded. "Okay, there's no one around."

"You can check that?" I asked her. "Huh. I didn't know you could use your powers that way."

"I couldn't." She looked up at me. "Well, I could, but this is different. When I healed you. Something changed. I could sense something in people." She took a deep breath. "I don't know how to explain it. Like a light, inside people. It can big, or small. But everyone has it."

There was confusion for a moment. That didn't sound like anything Panacea had been able to do in the books, or even the fanfics. She could only sense biological things, like how someone's heartbeat was doing. This sounded more like—

I almost fell over from the shock of realization. Ki. Panacea was sensing ki.

"Holy…" I opened and closed my mouth.

"You know what it is!" Panacea must have seen what I was thinking on my face. She grabbed my arm. "I hoped you would! What is the light?"

Shit. What was I supposed to do here? Panacea sensing ki? Did that mean she could learn to fight with it?

For an absurd moment I considered how she would look bald.

I discarded the thought and focused. "You can sense what I have inside me?"

She frowned, then closed her eyes. "It's a lot. More than anyone else I've felt."

Is it wrong to feel proud of something like that?

"What is it?" She asked me again.

"It's… it's power. Life itself in a sense." I shook my head. "Honestly, I wasn't sure other people would have it. The fact they do is actually pretty welcome, as surprises go."

"What's it called?" She asked. Her voice sounded eager, like she was on the cusp of a great realization.

On a whim, I accessed a skill I'd learned from Crane and Alexandria's videos. Crane seemed to have an instinct for the movement of others, while Alexandria was able to read body language to understand opponents. I doubt I could use it to the same extent they did, as their thinker powers no doubt allowed them to come up with conclusions I wouldn't be able to, but it was enough to figure out some things. From what I could figure out, the difference between what I'd learned and could actually do was very different.

The best description I can give is martial arts related. In ancient times, the first martial artists took inspiration from the animals around them. They couldn't mimic the claws, muscles, and instincts of those animals. But they could learn from their example. If a tiger lunged a certain way, using gravity to assist in the blow, a martial artist could do the same thing.

That was what my powers had done with Alexandria and Crane. I had none of the powers that let them do their thing. But I could copy the way they studied their opponents, the way they focused in on certain details to predict the next move, and use that as a base to body-read a person at a very rudimentary level.

I hadn't used it in the fight as reading body language is useless when everyone is moving in slow motion to you. So I was surprised at how much information I was getting. Granted, I was simply looking at what was important and using my own experiences to decide on what it meant, but I promised myself to grab some texts on body language to improve the ability.

From Panacea, I got a few things. She was a bit nervous about me, if I was dangerous, but not too much. There was a discipline there. She was sweet, but also carried a ruthlessness I really liked. She was hopeful as well.

 _Huh. Why hopeful?_

I had to dig deeper.

"It's called ki." She mouthed the word to herself. "And it doesn't just sit inside people. You can learn to control it." I smiled. "You can even learn to fly."

The idea seemed to shock her to her core. Wait, it really did shock her, Alexandria had shown me how to read the signs. Then she cocked her head in adorable confusion. "Wait, you're a Trump? You can give people powers with this stuff?"

"Ha! No, any person who's been educated can learn to use it." I rubbed her head affectionately. "I'm just a dude. But I can tell you this. If you come to PRT Headquarters tomorrow, we can figure this out."

"…and you can really teach me how to fly?" There was a desperation there. The kind any kid feels at the thought. She may have been a badass teen superhero, but every kid in the world wants to fly.

Me included.  
Still, there was a hesitation as well. The thought was big. Possible, in the world of Earth-Bet though.

"Come by tomorrow." I told her in response.

 _Hopefully I'll at least be able to sense ki like you can by then._

Seriously, it was unfair that she wasn't even a fan of Dragon Ball and she still learned how to sense ki before me.

"So… you can feel it in everyone, right?" I asked, making sure.

"Hmm?" She'd looked up, probably imagining flying through the air, but lowered her eyes to meet mine. "Oh, yeah. It's… amazing." She smiled.

"I bet." I pushed down my jealousy and sighed. "It's pretty cool though. No matter the person, no matter the stuff they've done in their life, hardened criminal, normal person, or superhero, we all have a light inside us."

"That's… an odd way of thinking of it." She sounded like I was about to say something crazy.

"Not really." I looked over my shoulder. Some more ABB guys were being put away about twenty feet away. "I mean, look at those guys. They live in a city with no work, and they end up working for a guy who would torch them if they even thought of leaving. If they want to get food for their families, they have to sell drugs, or worse, fight guys like Stormtiger. But they have that light anyways."

"They had a choice." I turned to look at Panacea. She was staring at the gangsters with an anger I hadn't expected. "They could have found work! They could have left! They choose to be gangsters." She looked at me. "They're criminals."

"…Can you feel their ki?" She frowned, but nodded. "Then understand this. Ki is potential. It is life. It is power, and like all power it is shaped as much by the environment around it as the container that guides it. And the fact is, sometimes people find themselves getting into a crappy place for reasons they can barely understand, so they waste their potential.

"I mean, think about some villains." I told her. "Parahumans have to trigger in traumatic ways. So a lot of us end up hurting someone without meaning to the first time, and that ends up marking them. We don't get a lot of leeway in court, and if we kill someone..."

"That doesn't mean you should become a villain!" Panacea said.

"You're right… it doesn't." I shrugged. "I'm not saying you should go easy on bad guys. Just remember that they're humans that make mistakes. Some are like Kaiser, and don't deserve mercy. But others are just people in a tough spot. Hell, you think because someone robs a bank, they won't buy ice cream for a kid? Al Capone was an asshole, but he still opened the first soup kitchen."

"Really?" She asked.

"Well, one of the first, I think." I said. "As heroes, I think part of our job as heroes is to be both an example and a wall. We need to show them there's a better path, and help them once they find it."

"…I don't know if it's that complicated." She said. "My mom has always told me that there are good guys and bad guys."

I chuckled. "Well, sometimes it is that simple. But you can sense ki now. You can see the beauty that is every man, woman, and child on the planet. The fact is, humans are anything but simple. We are a complex bunch. We protect people we're jealous of, love someone even as we hate them for making us love them so much," She flinched, eyes widening up at me. I continued as though I hadn't noticed. "And can be strong when we're at our weakest."

There was a peace in me. I really did believe what I was saying, and that made it easier. "I'm glad things aren't always black and white. Humanity has never been something that can be explained in two colors. We are an infinite tapestry, floating against the infinite blackness, screaming with happiness, love, hate, and sadness in a loud burst of noise." I smiled at her. "And ki, the fact it shines in all of us, is just proof of that to me."

I patted her shoulder. "Anyways, thanks for listening to my weird theories. See you tomorrow."

Then I skipped away, because why the heck not?

-

"Good job with Stormtiger." Piggot said.

I was standing next to Assault and Battery. I was on Assault's right, Battery was on his left, and we were all facing Piggot and Armsmaster. I'd borrowed a bulletproof vest from a PRT Guard, and was wearing that.

"Thank you ma'am." I said.

"That said," Her voice was icy, angry. "You ran in on your own, disobeying an order to pull back, then did so again when warned against engaging a veteran parahuman alone."

"In my defense ma'am, I had Glory Girl with me."

She cocked an eyebrow. "And would you say her aura affected your judgement?"

That was something that made me think. Had Glory Girl's aura affected me? Or was that just normal Saiyan confidence? God, it was actually pretty disheartening to think that I could be getting influenced from multiple directions.

"Possibly ma'am, but I wouldn't blame her." I said honestly. "If her aura did push me to overconfidence, it was to a decision that I would have made regardless, and I'll defend it if you like."

"Hmm." She leaned a hand on her face, eyes digging into mine. For some reason she wasn't as intimidating as the last time we met, but I decided to treat her with respect no matter what.

"Explain that." Armsmaster said. He'd been silent for most of the meeting, ignoring the jaunty greeting Assault gave him in favor of looking at us seriously. "Why do you believe that was the right decision?"

"…If I hadn't jumped in—the way I did with Glory Girl—there was a chance Stormtiger would have attacked civilians. The Empire were pulling out, but I didn't know that. According to the information I had, they were moments from getting more parahuman assistance. So I acted to take down Stormtiger so that I could remove him as a threat from the field."

"Ma'am." Assault stepped in. He sounded oddly serious. Piggot looked over at him, then nodded. "Battery and me weren't on the field, but security footage we were shown says that his read on the situation was solid. Kong did good work, and between him and Glory Girl smashing their forces, the ABB and Empire didn't do as much damage as they could have. If he'd waited for us, then…" He shrugged, leaving the rest unsaid.

"And do you agree?" Piggot looked at Battery, who looked thoughtful.

"Even with our motorcycles, we couldn't match Gohan's speed. I've seen him at his fastest, and I'd need time to charge my powers for about a minute to outpace him. If Velocity had been there then he could have been there in time. But as it is, we had civilians in the field, and someone who managed to reach them in time to save lives."

"Not fast enough." I said softly. The image of body bags set next to each other haunted me. A small grinding sound brought my gaze to my fist. The knuckles had gone white. I loosened it, growling a bit.

"Very well." Piggot took a folder off a massive pile of them and opened it. "There is something else. You were apparently filmed on a camera phone. Footage of you has leaked on the internet."

"Really?" I said.

"Really." Armsmaster said. "There's been some outcry. While you were hard to catch on camera, more than a few people got good angles. The footage of you breaking arms and legs has brought some negative attention."

"Yes," Piggot raised an eyebrow at me. "Most of the public who has been following things seem to like you, but there are some who are calling your actions excessive."

"And what do you two think?" I asked.

"Be more careful next time." Armsmaster said. "We can't let the public see us as violent or untrustworthy. I can understand putting down a threat hard, but we have dozens of men and women from both gangs being treated for broken bones and concussions."

Piggot looked at Armsmaster, then sighed. "I'd say, considering how many people were in that parking lot, and the fact there was no way of knowing how long each gangster could have been knocked out for, finishing them in such a brutal way was the only to prevent them from attacking other civilians while your back was turned."

"Ma'am?" Armsmaster asked, surprised.

"Yes, PR is important." Piggot said, though she seemed somewhat irritated by that fact. "But as it is, we can call this a win for us. We arrested a good chunk of both gangs, Stormtiger is in custody, and all anyone can talk about is Assault, Battery, Glory Girl, and Kong fighting to protect Brockton."

"Kong?" I asked, startled.

Piggot smirked. "Apparently Assault's nickname for you was recorded." Assault smirked so wide I could almost hear his cheek muscles stretch. She sighed. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes, actually." I said.

"And what is that?" Piggot said.

"I've invited Panacea over for a training session." Might as well be honest about this. "I believe another part of my powers might be available. According to her, I have an energy inside me. Something similar to the theory of life energy in martial arts mythology."

"What, like the Force?" Assault asked.

"Kinda." They had Star Wars here? Guess they weren't complete barbarians. "But this is only a theory. Still, with Panacea I think I'll be able to know for sure."

Piggot stared at me for moment. Then she looked over at Armsmaster. "I'd like you to monitor their session. Create sensors as well. If he does have a power source within him, I want to know about it."

"Yes, ma'am." Armsmaster said.

I couldn't help it.

"And let me know if I get over nine thousand."

He stared at me, confused.

Barbarian.

-

A while later Assault and Battery escorted me to the cafeteria. We were followed by two PRT guards, rather than the four I'd gotten used to. I decided to spend my time walking there trying to get to know them.

"So we can talk now right?" I asked one of them.

"Technically we were always allowed to talk to you." The voice was slightly muffled, but clearly male. "We just aren't allowed to be unprofessional, sir."

"That makes sense I guess." We turned another corner. "So can we talk while you guys are off-duty? I mean, we're going to be working together. We should probably get to know each other."

"I don't know," Assault had apparently been listening in. "For some reason the guys up top don't like Parahumans and PRT getting friendly."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, maybe they think we'll end up giving them powers by proxy or something."

It took me a moment to come up with a theory of my own. The director of the PRT was also a Cauldron member. So maybe Contessa saw something that made keeping a distance between the two groups important.

"Well damn, that's bullshit." I growled, raising my hands up to wrap them around the back of my head. "We are literally fighting the worst people on the planet. Hell, the supervillains here either outnumber us, or can take on Leviathan. And we're supposed to ignore you guys?" I directed the last to my PRT guards. "Hell, we should be training together! Figuring out ways to back each other up! I bring the muscle, you guys bring the foam!"

"That wouldn't be a bad idea." Battery said thoughtfully. "I do want to say that you should maintain some distance."

I sighed, but felt better when we got to the cafeteria. The room smelled like old food, plastic, and spices. The floor was made of blue linoleum, the tables were red plastic things similar to what you would find in hospitals, the room was half full of people, and the food looked amazing under the fluorescent light bulbs. I ignored everything in favor of heading to the buffet and piling two trays full of food.

You have no idea how disappointed I was at the fact physics refused to let me pile my food three feet high. I thought it would work, but apparently being a Saiyan didn't let me follow anime physics, so I decided I'd settle for one foot.

When I got to a table, Assault and Battery had waved over Miss Militia and two others who'd entered.

"Gohan," Battery said as I sat down. "I'd like you to meet Velocity—"

"Hi." The super-speedster held out a hand and gave me a polite smile.

"You already met Miss Militia."

"Gohan." The scarfed hero nodded.

"And Dauntless."

The other hero had a lance and shield on his back, and a wide grin on his face. "So you're the new guy, huh? Heard you took down Stormtiger."

"With Glory Girl, yeah." Honestly, I didn't even feel proud. Not because it hadn't felt cool, because I feel like I looked really badass after beating my first supervillain.

But all that was ruined when I saw the bodies. All the people killed by gunfire and melee had been bad enough. Seeing the ones killed by air blasts slashing them to pieces and sending shards of concrete and steel into them had made me want to rip Stormtiger in half.

I pushed those thoughts away as fast as I could.

"Good work." Dauntless sat down and reached out for my tray, apparently ready to grab something off my plate.

I didn't say a word, instead emptying the tray he'd reached for into my mouth at super-speed, enjoying both the feeling of a mouth full of hot dogs and mashed potatoes and the look of shock on his face when his hand hit an empty plate.

Assault started laughing, and Dauntless chuckled, apparently not offended. "So, what is your powerset anyways? Super-strength and speed right?"

"Might be more actually." I said when I swallowed the food in my mouth. "I also ramp up. Kind of like you I guess, it just happens to my body instead of my stuff."

He gave me an odd look, his lips thinning, and his nose twitching. "How fast do you do it?"

"Well as long as I'm working out, it should be really fast." I said. "Combat increases my power too. And eating I guess." The last was a lie, I was hoping if I said that people would give me more food.

"…maybe you should slow down a bit there, bud." Dauntless said slowly.

I blinked at him around another delicious hot dog. He sighed, then got up. "I'm gonna head out."

Velocity watched him walk off, then turned to me. "He doesn't like you."

"Ha dazdt?" I swallowed, and tried again. "He doesn't? Why not?"

"I think he's gotten used to the idea he's going to be Triumvirate level one day." Miss Militia said.

"He's not a huge asshole about it or anything, but pretty much all anyone talks about is how he'll be the most powerful dude on the planet in a few years." Assault said.

"So, what, he thinks I'm competition?"

I'd never been competition before.

"Anyways, finish up and we can visit the Wards." Battery said.

"I'm going to be introducing you." Miss Militia said helpfully.

"Huh." I thought about that for a moment.

Then I looked at Miss Militia. My eyes went down to the knife I'd brought over for my steak. She followed my gaze. Her eyes widened when she saw the steak knife, then rose and narrowed at me. I reached out for the steak knife. She stared into my eyes. I stared back. Slowly I picked up the knife, and began to cut into my steak. She didn't move as I lifted up my portion and bit into it.

"What the hell is happening here?" Velocity asked Assault in the background.

"I don't know, but I feel like I should be filming this in case they start making out." Assault said.

I swallowed the steak wrong at that, and spent the next few seconds coughing out the steak as a worried Battery slapped my back.


	9. Chapter 9

Velocity said his goodbyes and headed out a few minutes later, but promised to meet me later. Battery and Assault went next, apparently wanting to get started on their reports. Well, Battery did, I'm pretty sure Assault wanted to joke around with 'Puppy'. That left Miss Militia and me to go on our own, with a promise they would join us later.

"So Piggot has set up an appointment for my tail to get removed," I told Miss Militia. "I just wanted to see what you would do."

"And you think that makes it better?" She sounded annoyed.

"No… I just like that you won't let me do it, I think."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

I stopped walking. She turned to look at me, and the PRT guards behind me stopped as well. For a moment I almost said nothing. But I forced it out.

"I'm worried I guess." My right hand rose up, and I clenched it tight. "Today I got shot at again. Wasn't scared. Wasn't even nervous. I broke men and women's arms and legs under my hands like it was nothing. The first thing I did when Stormtiger hit me with an air blast, was to complain that he'd ripped my shirt." My shoulders rose, then lowered. "I guess the reason I like you telling me no, is that it reminds me I'm human. Assault jokes around with me, and you keep me from doing things normal people avoid."

"Huh." Miss Militia looked at me over the American flag scarf that was her staple. "I doubt you have to worry about that. You are very strange, but still normal compared to some capes I've met."

"Maybe." I walked up to her, looking at her seriously. "Just… don't ever let me forget if I'm being weird? I don't ever want to wake up and think that things like cutting off body parts is normal."

"Not a sentence I ever thought I'd hear." She said.

"We're superhuman." I smiled. "Sentences you never thought would come about are just part of it, I guess."

I left it unsaid that I was a very different sort of superhuman from most.

"Hmm." She looked up at me, eyes crinkling slightly. "I suppose I can keep you from doing anything too crazy. Granted, I doubt I could stop you if I really tried."

"I'm sure you've got a nuke or two if you have to really stop me."

She laughed, then led me along. "Just tone it down from now on."

"…I'm sorry by the way," She looked back. "I didn't say it. Sorry about asking for that. I know it must have freaked you out, so—"

"Like I said." She said. "Just tone it down. And I'll make sure to humble you from time to time."

She was smirking, I could tell. There was a happier glow in her eyes.

I liked it.

There was still a problem though. I was still worried. The things I'd told her were half-truths. I did like the fact she didn't just roll over and let me do what I want. Maybe a few reminders I couldn't simply do what I wanted would be good for me. I think of myself as a nice guy, but odds are many conquerors and killers had thought the same thing once.

Then there was the fact I was almost certain I'd changed. Maybe not a lot. But what if I just didn't have the same control over my instincts that a real Saiyan would? Take feral children after all.

Human children who end up lost in the woods, and end up lucky enough to be adopted by a wild animal. Maybe a deer or a wolf, whatever would find an infant human and decide it would make a good addition to the family, as opposed to being a quick meal. Mowgli from the _Jungle Book_ and the character Tarzan were famous examples of fictional ones, but in real life things were damn sad. They became almost entirely instinct driven. In human society, parents are supposed to train kids to control those instincts using their lifetime of experience. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but it was the reason we weren't all acting more like wolves.

So what about me? I was technically unprecedented in Dragon Ball, at least in the canon stuff. A human adult, changed into a Saiyan one. Would the instincts get stronger as I did? Were they changing me in unnoticeable ways? Goku and Vegeta had an almost unhealthy obsession with getting stronger. Would I one day be the same, no longer having an interest in the books I once loved, becoming the kind of guy who leaves his wife and children for months in favor of training?

I had no problem with being a Saiyan, but the idea of losing parts of myself scared me. Well, worried. Fear seemed to be less of a factor these days. I had no problem with it if the Saiyan parts simply made my human soul stronger.

But what if I ended up like a feral child? What if the fact I had no experience with these instincts ended up doing something to me? What if, when I finally had to kill an Endbringer, I ended up more obsessed with the challenge than with the kill?

I kept those worries to myself for now. But I started planning a way to handle those things.

After all, Saiyans are obsessed with training, right? So why not apply it to the problem?

-

"Wards, please join me in the rec room!" Miss Militia called out.

We were standing in a large room with a big couch in the center, some bean bags laid around, and a large TV up against the wall. The carpet was soft even under my booted feet. For a moment I felt an urge to remove my shoes. Muslims aren't supposed to wear shoes in houses, and this place felt lived in. There were old scents in the air. My Saiyan nose made smell a sense as important as sight, and it was telling me this place had some history.

The PRT guards had stayed outside. I looked around curiously, still wearing the bulletproof chest I'd been given over my orange gi pants. I noted the small bookshelf against the wall, with some copies of Lord of the Rings that stood out to me. I was about to go over and see what books from another universe were like when a girl came into the room.

She was wearing a teal and green costume that consisted of a short dress, legging, and a breastplate along with other panels of armor. A green visor went across her eyes to hide her identity. She was also tiny, cute even, with a thin body and wide eyes, looking like she should have been playing with ponies instead of fighting bad guys.

But I wasn't dumb enough to ever think of suggesting that to Vista.

"Miss Militia?" The petite girl asked as she came into the room.

"Hello Vista." The older woman smiled. "I came to introduce you to the new parahuman who'll be joining us."

Vista had immediately noticed me. She looked me up and down, which I returned. I activated my weaker version of Alexandria's body reading power. I also decided to name it Body-Read, to simplify it for me. It was only later I would realize I had technically named my first technique. Pity it didn't explode things.

She was confident. Tough as well. And she recognized me? How? Well, she didn't seem to dislike me at least.

The young girl came up and held her hand out with a cute smile. "Hi, Kong! I'm Vista." Miss Militia chuckled as I winced. She looked between us, confused. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's really just a misunderstanding," I took her hand and shook it, careful to treat her as an equal, something I didn't need meta-knowledge and Body-Read to figure out. "I'm Gohan Moha. Kong is the nickname Assault gave me because of an aspect of my powers."

"Oh." She sounded embarrassed, shaking my hand. "Sorry."

"Nah, fuck it." Miss Militia glared at me, probably for the language. "I'm starting to like Kong. Has some badass connotations. Nice to meet you, Vista."

She grinned up at me. "Likewise."

"Hey, we meeting people?" We looked over to see a guy in a white full bodysuit with images of clocks on it. He was well-built under the suit, and walked with confidence.

"You got the time?" I asked as he came in, looking over his costume.

Body-Read showed me his surprise, then his amusement. I turned it off, as both of those were pretty obvious. Clearly he wasn't one to hide his emotions. Still, I could tell he was ready to prank me, so I prepared to watch for that.

"Good one." He chuckled, walking over. "Put it there, pal." He held his hand out, smiling brilliantly.

"Clockblocker…" Miss Militia's voice had a warning tone to it.

"Just saying hi, I promise!" The amusement in his voice said he was enjoying how tense Miss Militia had gotten.

"Yeah, calm down," I said with a smile of my own. Then my smile stretched into a smirk. "After all, if he does freeze me, I'll track down Vista and help him end up naked in the middle of downtown." He stopped smiling, but somehow still seemed to be laughing internally. "Because one of my powers is, after all, disproportionate retribution."

"Apparently." He looked over at Vista. She winked. He smirked back, apparently more amused than scared, and shook my hand. He didn't freeze me, though he did smirk a bit wider. "So do you threaten to strip every guy you meet?"

"No, that tends to be something that happens to me." I shrugged. "Body like mine, can you blame 'em?"

Huh. Confidence in my appearance. Been a while since I actually had that.

Clockblocker laughed. "What, like Stormtiger?"

"I guess." I looked down at the vest I was wearing. "Hopefully Kid Win finishes up my costume soon. I'd like something that could withstand that sort of force soon."

"So that's what he's doing," Vista said. "He's been in his lab for hours, working."

"Really?" Miss Militia frowned. "Maybe I should check on him, make sure he gets some air."

"I'll go too," I said, hoping to get a look at the new armor, or the staff if he was working on that instead.

"Nah, leave him for a bit," Clockblocker said with a wave of his hand. "He sounded pretty happy when he went in."

Ha! Who says I'm a crap manipulator!? Kid Win, going all modular, because of me!

"What are you so happy about?" Miss Militia asked. I wiped the smile off my face.

"Nothing."

"Hmm," She considered me for a moment, then turned to the Wards. "Where are the others?"

"Well, Aegis and Shadow Stalker are out on a patrol, but they should be back in a few minutes," Vista said, a hint of distaste in her voice. That distaste got deeper a second later. "And Gallant is on the phone with his _friend_."

"…All right then," I said awkwardly. Damn, girls Vista's age should not be able to fit so much hate into one word. "Anyways, I'd like to get to know you guys. I was going to set up a training thing tomorrow with Panacea. She has school, and I guess you guys do too, but I'd like you to come afterwards. You as well," I added to Miss Militia.

"Us?" Clockblocker blinked.

"Yeah," I said. "I mean, I beat Stormtiger, but I'm guessing it's because he had no idea how tough and fast I am. Other bad guys will figure out ways around it. You two have been at this longer than me, and your powers are unique enough that you can make things hard for me."

"And me?" Miss Militia asked.

" _You_ , are one of the most badass heroes on the planet. I doubt I really need to say why I want to train with you. Plus, I still want to learn how to catch bullets."

"Catch bullets?" Clockblocker sounded both surprised and interested.

"Yeah. I'm bullet-proof, but being able to catch them will help me train my speed." I explained how my powers worked, with the way they could ramp up. We moved over to the couch, and I'd just explained the Oozaru form and showed a delighted Vista and Clockblocker my tail when three more people came in.

I activated my super-speed and looked them over with my eyes, making sure not to move too much so I wouldn't give away the shift in speed.

I recognized them easily enough. The first to come in was Aegis, the current leader of the team. Second was a young man wearing silver and gunmetal armor, which made him Gallant.

The last person, I activated Body-Read on.

Well, not really activated. It's more that I could choose to put more of my focus into the little details that you usually pick up instinctively. It wasn't something that could really be turned off, now that I'd learned it, but I could make it a priority, like closing your eyes to listen to music.

I focused in on her, reading her body movements as my super-speed made her body move in slow motion. All black and grey colors. A hooded cloak and body armor. And twin crossbows.

Shadow Stalker.

God, reading her was like seeing a wolf about to attack. She carried viciousness in every part of her. It was controlled, disciplined in a way. But only barely. There was an anger there, in the way she looked around with under her mask. I shut off Body-Read, but I could still see that rage.

A part of me found that anger interesting in ways that worried me. But all I had to think about was the locker. Of a girl who'd lost everything, shoved into a small space and forced to endure the sort of thing they used to torture soldiers in enemy nations.

Also. Twin crossbows? What was this, Diablo? How annoying would those be to reload?

I deliberately ignored Shadow Stalker. Nothing I could do for now. I had no proof of her bullying and continuing vigilante activities. I'd meet Taylor soon, but I couldn't do anything in the span of a single meeting. For now, I had to keep my tongue.

"Ah, good." Miss Militia waved the three in. "Aegis, Gallant, Shadow Stalker, this is Gohan Moha. He is going to become the newest member of the Protectorate, and I wanted to introduce you."

"Sup," I said with a wave of my hand.

"Hello." Aegis came forward and I rose from my seat to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You too. Hopefully we'll work together soon," I told him honestly.

"Not likely," Clockblocker said as Gallant came forward to shake my hand as well. Gallant was looking me up and down curiously, more so than Aegis was, as Clockblocker spoke. "The Youth Guard keep us to safer routes, so they don't really have us patrol with the old dudes. No offense, Miss Militia."

"None taken?" Miss Militia cocked her head to the side. Her phone beeped, and she took a look at it, then rose up with an apologetic look to go to the other room.

"They let us patrol with them sometimes," Gallant argued towards Clockblocker. "The only reason we don't do it more is so that we get more time to learn the ropes, understand what our limits are."

"Well I'd like to go on patrol with you guys," I admitted as I sat down, seeing Miss Militia leave the door open, so she could run back in case something happened, I guess. "Hell, I'm the new guy here, I'd like to see how both teams do their thing so I can learn."

"Or you just want help doing your job." Shadow Stalker sounded dismissive on the surface. But Body-Read told me she was also probing me. Trying to find out what kind of person I was, see if I would back down.

"Nah, I just like accepting learning where I can get it." I rested back with my hands behind my head, giving her an insolent smile. "Stop learning, start dying, right? And what kind of idiot doesn't learn from the best. Hell, Vista has what, three years on me?"

"Something like that," Vista shrugged, but she was clearly pleased.

"The weakling?" Shadow Stalker scoffed. Vista's pleased smile turned into a glare.

"Hell, if she's your idea of weakness, you must go around one-shoting Endbringers," I said carefully. God, did I want to insult Shadow Stalker until she would attack me in rage. There were plenty of ways for me to take her down after all. Show her, her place below me.

I pushed that down, realizing that taking her down would be much sweeter if I planned it out, and focused on something else.

"By the way, do you guys know what's going to happen to Stormtiger? There no chance he'll break out right?"

"Well, I wouldn't say no chance," Clockblocker said carefully. "But I doubt you've got to worry. You kicked his ass."

"Only cause our powers were incompatible." I tapped my right bicep lightly. "My skin was too tough for his air blasts. But if he had someone else helping, he could have kept me pinned down for a buddy. I need to get training. Pushing myself further."

"Oh, and I already asked these two to help," I added to Aegis and Gallant. "You guys want in? The more, the merrier."

"Training?" Aegis rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, sounds good. Not tomorrow though, I have a study group."

"Same," Gallant blushed a bit. "Well, not the study group thing. I uh, I have a date after school. But maybe another time."

"Sure." I was disappointed though. Gallant had a master power, which meant I could ask him for help in seeing if I could learn to throw off such powers. After all, Simurgh was still out there. Same with Heartbreaker, Cherish, and any others I didn't know about.

Vista was also disappointed, but I doubt for the same reasons.

"Like I need the help." With that dismissive statement, Shadow Stalker got up and walked over to the door.

"Didn't invite you." She stopped. I blinked, surprised I'd said that. She turned to look over at me.

"Excuse me?" Someone was offended. Oh well, in for a penny.

"Last thing I want to have training with me is someone whose whole shtick is running away."

"Shots fired!" Clockblocker crowed.

Shadow Stalker glared at me. I stared back. A part of me was excited. Would she attack now? She'd be insane to do it. But God, how good would it feel to put her down? To show her what it felt like to be weak? I could do it. Rip out sparking wires to wrap her up, or use window cleaner or some other abrasive liquid.

I could take her down.

"Okay, I'm back." Miss Militia came into the room. She looked at the standing Shadow Stalker, then at me when she saw where the younger girl was staring. "Something wrong?"

"No." Miss Militia looked at me, then back at Shadow Stalker.

The young vigilante stared at me a moment longer, eyes hard as knives. Then she shook her head. "No, nothing wrong."

She turned, opened the door, and left.

"What just happened?" Miss Militia asked, suspicious.

"I made a rival I think," I admitted. "It's good for the soul though. Keeps you on your toes."

"Sir?" Aegis seemed a bit confused. "Why the hostility towards Shadow Stalker?"

"I'll tell you later." I got to my feet. "Anyways, it was nice meeting you all. We should hang out, watch a movie or something, go on patrol and all that."

"Where are you going?" Miss Militia asked.

"To start training." I walked over to the door, then looked over at her. "Join me?"

"…Sure."

"Cool." I looked around. "As for you guys, I'll see you later?"

"Yeah." Vista didn't seem to know what to make of me anymore, while Clockblocker smirked. Aegis and Gallant shared a skeptical look.

I left the room and headed to the gym.

-

"I have to say, this is going to be new."

What I could I do but chuckle at that?

"Same here. You ready?" I was standing on the side of a shooting range you don't want to be on. I was wearing some ear protection, but had stripped off the bulletproof vest. I didn't want to ruin it after all.

Miss Militia was on the other side. She had a simple pistol in her hand. Velocity stood next to her. I'd asked him to meet me for training, so we could see what we could learn from each other based on our super-speed.

"Yes," Miss Militia lifted and aimed. "Tell me when."

"When," I shifted into super-speed. Miss Militia pulled the trigger. I could see the shifting muscles in her finger. The trigger was pulled.

BOOM!

A bullet flies at speeds the human mind can't comprehend. We just aren't built for it. We can barely see things like punches or cars going past us at high speed. How could we even understand the speed of something that shatters those limits?

So at the very least, understand that I could barely see the bullet. It slammed into my bare chest even as I slowly reached out to grab it. The tiny pellet flattened, then landed on the ground.

Damnit.

"You okay?" Miss Militia asked from downrange.

"Only my pride is hurt," I admitted. "How about you, Velocity? You can see these, right?"

"Yeah." He grinned. "But I'm not really looking to take a turn."

I smiled back before turning to Miss Militia. "Okay. Bring them on."

She gave me a serious nod, then started firing. She kept a good pace, aiming, firing, and then reacquiring the target, i.e. me.

I began to move. My hands lashed out, trying to grab each bullet as they came. You ever try catching a fly? Same basic concept. Over and over, I felt the smack of a bullet against me, and my anger and frustration rise.

Until, after the third time the gun in her hand disappeared and reappeared to 'reload'…

BOOM!

I reached out. I could almost see the bullet. A copper trail blurring towards me. My hand lashed out. My teeth grinded against one another. I felt a bead of sweat fly off my skin. I reached out. I reached out. I reache—

SMACK!

We all stayed still for a moment. My hand was clenched tight as I stared at it in awe. Slowly, I let my hand open. The bullet fell from my hand and landed on the floor, deformed from the tight grip I'd held it in.

"…Yes!" I raised my hands high! Good God, I'd done it! "Woot! It worked! I—"

"Doesn't count."

"What." I looked over at Velocity, my hand still raised.

"Sorry." He shrugged with an apologetic look on his face. "You ended up kinda smacking at it. Catching is more you putting your hand in front and letting it fall in."

"Oh come on, that's semantics!"

Miss Militia shrugged when I gave her an incredulous look. "I'm just firing. I can't actually see what's happening."

"By the way," Velocity said. "Are you aiming at his nipples?"

"Kind of?" She blushed slightly when I gave her a flabbergasted look. "Sorry! They make excellent targets! Same with your belly button!"

"At least you're having fun with it." I lowered into a stance, not knowing what to think of Miss Militia's target choices. "Okay, here we go again."

"Try to _see_ the bullets," Velocity suggested. "If you can really get faster, then that's a good first step."

Miss Militia aimed, fired, and I missed. The bullet smacked into my left nipple.

It got to be a pattern after a while.

-

When I entered my room I was both frustrated and motivated. The muscles all across my body felt as though they'd been dipped in acid, and a shower to get rid of the sweat was in order. It was the first time in a while since I got tired. The constant high speed movement had taken its toll. I felt good though. Muscles in pain after a workout was a good way to tell how much progress I was making.

Taking my queue from old lessons in boxing and new ones in Tai Chi, I started stretching. I didn't know if my Saiyan body would heal faster than my human one from fatigue, but not stretching was always a bad idea. As I moved slowly, flexing muscles and relaxing them, I thought about what I had learned recently.

I caught four bullets out of every ten from there, but I could see where Velocity was coming from. I spent most of my time aiming for where the bullets _probably_ were going to be, rather than actually seeing them. I felt like I was improving, but speeding up my eyes until I could actually see the bullets moving was a priority.

As my head landed on the pillow of my bed, I sighed with frustration. Becoming super-strong and fast had given me a false sense of superiority. Finding myself failing to catch up all of a sudden had been a real wake up call. As it is, I had none of the true power that I needed to make big changes, and it would be a long, hard slog to get there.

But catching bullets was a good first step. We'd only gone at it for a short time before Miss Militia and Velocity had to sleep, and it was just a testing moment, but I still thought it was valuable.

Still, it was getting late. And I really had something to do in the morning.

Last I checked, Taylor jogged every morning. And if I wanted to change things, I would need her. Her smarts may have reached meta status, but the girl had tactical brilliance, a determination that had seen her to the end of the world, and some damn dangerous powers. If I could get to her, let her know I was an ally…

I felt like shit then. Taylor was a real person. Everyone I'd met today were more than just pieces on a board. Miss Militia, Vista, Velocity, Clockblocker, they were all real. People with deams, hopes, likes, dislikes. And all I could think about was how _useful_ they are?

Pragmatic as it was, I felt like an asshole for it. Could I really measure people based on how useful they were? There were a lot of people who weren't really necessary after all. Hell, if I worked hard enough, pushed myself to the limit the way I was planning, I wouldn't need anyone at all.

But then, I could be wrong.

God, I was so confused. I needed people, I didn't need them, was it selfish to ask them to help me, was it selfless to do it for the sake of the world? So many different ways I could fuck up things.

And all I wanted was to be a Saiyan. I was honest with Piggot. I just want to punch stuff. Making new friends, getting food, and hitting bad guys, those were all a blast. But I had to start preparing for the end of the world.

I finally lifted myself off the bed and sat on the floor after a few minutes of tossing and turning. I crossed my legs and took a deep breath. The last time I'd tried to access my ki, I'd done my best to stay calm. But I was thinking in the wrong direction.

This time I closed my eyes and focused on anger. I thought of all the things in the world that pissed me off. Sex slavers was the top of the list. The mere thought of it, of people kidnapping women and children to… I researched the industry once. I had to stop to throw up. I'm not being dramatic. The anger, the shock I felt. I can disassociate myself from a lot of terrible things, but I've never gotten over the horror that I'd seen.

The anger never came easier. It was almost wonderful, the heat that came out. I was vibrating in my seat, holding myself back from lashing out at nothing. It took a lot to control myself and keep focusing. I had to access my ki. And Saiyans get a lot of power from rage. Maybe, by guiding my anger, by using it to fuel my attempt, but still keeping control, I could access my ki.

My attempt was focused on control. Rage, but cold and controlled. Focused towards a goal, making sure it didn't overwhelm me. I grabbed towards the power source within myself, trying to make it flow into the space between my hands.

I focused. My eyes started to strain as I stared down at my hands.

 _Focus. Anger guided by calm. Ki is already inside me, like a lake of power. I just need to feel it, control it._

My hands started to shake. I'd been sitting for hours.

 _Focus… focus… focus…_

Light.


	10. Chapter 10

I blinked the light out of my eyes. The sunlight was coming in from my window. Apparently my quarters were on the side facing the rising sun. I slowly looked around. I was asleep on the floor again. Must have slept while meditating again.

As I rolled to my feet, I reached out for the laptop I'd been given. A chuckle left me at the irony. One of the first things I would do in my home universe after waking was reach for my laptop or cell phone. The more things change I guess.

For now though, I turned it on. As it booted up I moved over to the bathroom and did the things necessary for all mortals. When I walked back into the room wiping water out of my hair with a towel, my computer was on. And a voice came from it.

"Good morning." The voice was feminine, warm. "Sleep well?"

"Yep." I cocked my head to the side. I knew who it was of course, but I figured I'd have some fun with it. "Did you just gain sentience, computer? Because if so, that's pretty awesome. Although I guess I'd have to be more careful about viruses."

The voice chuckled. "No, no sentience. I'm Dragon."

"Oh." I sighed in mock sadness as I finished drying my hair with the towel. "Damn, I was really hoping you were an AI. Would be nice to see a few of those around. We could use more sentient beings on Earth these days."

"Interesting point of view," Dragon noted simply. I shrugged.

"So, I'm going to guess my attempt to act as though having the most badass tinker in the world talking to me hasn't made me freak out a little hasn't worked." I said with a smile.

"Just a bit." Dragon didn't have a face. I knew that. She was a collection of codes, with a soul created by that grouping of complex programs. But I could imagine her smiling. "I'm actually here to tell you that your armor should be done by the end of the week."

"Already?" I sat down on my bed and brought my tinker laptop over to me. "Doesn't that take a longer amount of time? Like, weeks?"

"Sometimes, but we worked on it for a while." Dragon chuckled a little self-consciously. "Armsmaster is still working on it. Kid Win has been forced to take a nap."

"Damn," I winced, shaking my head. "I didn't want him to overwork. Can you tell him to back off if it's hurting him?"

"Actually I think this was good for him," Dragon said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Well, thanks to your request to make sure the armor could adapt to different environments, with the same done for your weapon's abilities to switch between forms, Kid Win discovered his tinker focus is multifunction equipment." She sounded kind of proud. "He reached out to me while you were on patrol, and I believe he has a lot of potential as a tinker. If we can go back and improve projects he once had trouble with, we may discover more."

Can anyone blame me for grinning like a kid with candy? I'd honestly liked Chris when we met. He had a naive honesty about him, something that reminded me of my little brothers when they were a little younger. The idea that he was on his way, partially because of me, was a nice one.

"Did you know what his focus was?"

The sudden question threw me for a loop.

"Not really." True. I wasn't knowledgeable enough about Worm to be one hundred percent sure about anything. "I really wanted stuff that could survive the type of stress I would put them under. I thought he could help."

"Hmm." Man, for an AI, Dragon could fit a lot of skepticism in one sound. "Very well."

"So was that everything?" I asked.

"For now. But it was nice to speak with you Gohan."

"Same to you."

I grabbed my laptop as the webcam light on it blinked out and brought up the internet. It didn't take long to get to the video site I'd found. Rather than martial arts and superheroes though, I put up a video of a thunderstorm. It was as easy to find as it had been on my world, just hours of nothing but the noise of a storm. Back home I used to listen to it while writing or studying.

With the sound of rain and thunder in the background, I sat down, crossed my legs, and focused.

Power is something human beings have debated about for centuries. How it should be used, what is 'true' power, how one can obtain it, the topic has occupied us since the first asshole realized a heavy rock could let him kill his rival. I'm sure billionaires think they have power. Politicians with influence have probably bragged about being able to shatter careers. Monks on mountains spent decades meditating on how to use their martial power. And in Earth-Bet, I'm sure plenty of parahumans believe they have power.

But as I sat there, I felt I had a glimpse of true power. Massive, and ever-growing, useful for thousands of situations. My lantern ring, my Phoenix Force, my magic wand.

But the thing about those is that they don't just mean power. It's the fact they can be so much more over time. A lantern ring isn't just lasers, it's a complex computer system connected to the very epicenter of life. There's a reason they say the only limit to a lantern ring is the imagination. With enough, anything is possible.

In fact, that may be what true power is. Not the ability to smash lives, but to create possibilities, both for yourself and others. That is why money and influence are powerful, because they give people the ability to make moves.

So I sat there and tapped into my ki. The first time had been one of the most calming experiences of my life. Imagine being able to feel your blood rush through your veins. Something that you've technically felt your whole life, and suddenly it's thousands of times more vivid. The very thing that gives you life, which you've never noticed, now giving you a reminder that you exist.

I focused on my ki and pushed it into the space between my cupped hands. It was hard, like moving an extra limb. Well, that wasn't new actually, since my tail was still waving behind me, but that's the best analogy for it.

A bright light flashed between my hands. I tried to focus it, make it a single collected ball. My idea was to start learning how to control ki in bigger amounts. By figuring out how to control and guide it, I could copy the more subtle abilities, even control fire, ice, and electricity.

Honestly though, I was practically bouncing on the carpet. All introspection on the nature of power aside, I had _ki!_ Forget Saiyan DNA, ki alone was worth getting Simurgh smashed. The feel of energy flowing down my arms and exiting my palms to coalesce into a tiny ball was like a childhood dream come to life.

The problem was, I couldn't make the tiny ball bigger. My ki kept leaving the space between my hands and spiraling away in invisible waves. I tried to keep it together, but it was easier to send the ki out than it was to contain it.

Which made sense. The first ki move with any real power in Dragonball was Kamehameha, but the technique was pretty advanced. At least, my impression of it was. Let's say Goku and the others calling out the attack was their way of mentally saying what each part of the attack did. 'Ka' to start the flow, 'Me' to begin collecting it between the hands, 'Ha' once finished gathering enough power, 'Me' again to begin the final part, and 'Ha' to blast it outwards.

So with that in mind, the move is brilliant, and actually requires a lot of focus to use, at least if you're trying to invent it. Goku, Krillin, and even Yamcha had all learned how to use it with ease, but they had the benefit of years of martial arts skill and an ancient master to show them the way, to say nothing of Goku's instincts.

But if I couldn't quite start Kamehamehaing my way across Brockton, there was a far easier move.

I stopped gathering my ki and left the room.

-

There were still bullet holes on the shooting range when I got there. Funnily enough, Miss Militia was there as well. She was holding a weapon that looked like an assault rifle made to kill giant monsters, a giant metal block with a hole in the end. I took a moment to look her over, the loud burst of noise that followed each pull of the trigger filling the room. She was still wearing her costume.

Huh. I guess technically I wasn't supposed to know her name was Hannah. Same with Colin, Missy, Chris… damn, none of them had actually given me their real names? Suppose I was still a security risk to them.

I pushed that aside to walk over to Miss Militia. She obviously noticed me, but chose to keep shooting. The target on the other end, the paper kind you see in movies, was barely existent at this point. Still, my super speed was enough to see that she was targeting the heart and head with ease, bullets passing through the holes made by prior shots while barely disturbing the remaining edges.

After another three perfect shots she placed the assault rifle down on the counter in front of her.

"Gohan."

"Sup." I gave her a smile, which she returned. "What happened to sleep? I'd have thought you'd be getting breakfast."

"You are one to talk." She smirked at me. "You do not need to act like a human garbage disposal anymore?"

"I bet I could beat a garbage disposal anyways." She laughed as she pressed a button to have the tattered target come back.

"Probably. Anyways, I do not sleep. Don't need to anymore."

"Ah." Forgot about that. Damn my lack of real knowledge about Worm. In my defense, I never expected to need it, so…

"What about you?" She unclipped the paper from the hook that held it in the air, replacing it with another. "While I was joking, I would have expected you to be eating now."

"I had to test something." I stepped to the side and entered the booth next to hers.

"What?" She asked, following me curiously. The scarfed heroine watched me take a stance facing the range. "Would you like a gun?" Her voice took on a teasing tone. "Or maybe a bullet to throw?"

I smiled at the second one before focusing.

 _Same as before, gather ki in my hands. This time though, only for a brief moment. Now breathe. Lift my hand. And…_

Miss Militia let out a sound behind me as light gathered in my left hand. Then, I blasted outward.

A yellow ball of light flashed into existence in front of my palm, flying across the room like a bullet. A noise like the unholy fusion of electricity and a bird shrieking followed its passing. The blast of ki slammed into the back wall with a loud boom, and dust followed. When the grains of concrete settled from the air, a hole had been dug into the back wall.

"Damn." I frowned. "Missed." I looked over at the surprised Miss Militia and grinned. "So I guess they'll need to give me a blaster rating, huh?"

-

Blaster 5, to be exact. My ki blasts took a lot out of me, but they were sufficient to chip out large portions of concrete, bend steel, and turn the one pig corpse they gave me to test on into something like burnt soup.

Miss Militia had called in Linebreaker Genius after I demonstrated my new ability. He'd immediately had me brought into another room, one designed for heroes like Legend, and had me shooting as fast as I could.

I could keep up a good stream for a bit, but then I would need a bit of time to recover my ki. So for about a minute or so I could turn a car into slag.

Fun.

But even as Linebacker Genius clapped at the display, I was disappointed. Not too much, as I'd expected the problem, but disappointed. The blasts were in an odd middle ground. They'd turn normal humans into chunks of meat. And brutes that were powerful enough that I would need lasers instead of fist to bring down could survive a standard ki blast easily. Pretty much the same problem as in the Dragon Ball series.

They'd be useful as a way to destroy cover, but I knew I needed to start training myself further if I wanted to get anything significant.

It took about two hours for the scientists to get their readings and decide on the new rating. It felt a bit fast, but apparently the rating 5 was just a tentative guess until they could look over the findings. They sent me and Miss Militia off while they sent a report to Piggot, and we left to get breakfast.

-

"Seriously, laser blasts?" Assault asked me as he ran a knife through a pancake. "You getting juiced or something man?"

"Not really." I took a bite into my steak and egg burrito, my next words muffled by the food. "I'm jus' trainin'."

"Chew your food," Battery said wearily. As I focused on finishing the third burrito, she gave me a look.

Velocity and Miss Militia were sitting with us. The five of us had a table in the back of the cafeteria, and the place was bustling.

"It is odd," Battery noted. "How do lasers fit in with martial arts? Don't most powers have a theme?"

Not Cauldron ones. I locked eyes with her, making sure to smile.

"Well they are in theme, if you think about my powers from a perspective other than traditional martial arts," I answered.

"What do you mean?" Velocity asked curiously.

"Asian fantasy is full of stories of martial artists capable of superhuman feats, including blasts," I explained. "Like _Journey To The West_ for example. The main character even had a monkey tail." Mine waved behind me, as though happy to be spoken about. "So I'm guessing my theme is less martial arts super-soldier, and more magical kung-fu mystic."

"Always interesting." Velocity rubbed his chin. "Trying to figure out how powers work. Why do most have a theme? Do those themes tie into their mindset at the time? I wonder if my powers could have been different, if I'd had a different point of view at the time, you know?"

"Yeah, I get that." Interesting thought. For me, what if I'd waken up with different powers? As a Kryptonian, a psyker, or in an android body like Mega Man or the Terminator? How different would things have been?

"I like my powers though," Assault said. "Granted, it might have been awesome to be able to see through clothes." He stared pointedly at his wife, who gave him a look between annoyed and fond.

"Heh!" Velocity waved a hand dismissively. "Mere speculation, I assure you. I like my powers. While they have their drawbacks, I am more than happy with them."

I finished my food and looked over the group. "So, what are you guys doing today? I figure I'll go back to training, use the gym and all, see how far I can get before my armor is done."

"I'm headed out to patrol," Velocity said. "It's me and you today, right Militia?"

She nodded, smiling under her mask. "Downtown. Should be fun. How about you two?"

"Boardwalk again," Assault said.

"Public Affairs think it would be a good idea to have us going there after we broke up the battle yesterday," Battery explained. "Show people the heroes who saved them walking around unharmed, you know?"

"And I said, 'Well why don't we bring Kong again, ask Glory Girl and Panacea to meet us?' " Assault lifted a forkful of pancake up to wave it in the air. "And all we got was something about how they wanted to keep him under wraps until the press conference next week, and that 'you need to stop calling him Kong, PHO thinks it's his cape name now'." He scoffed. "Like those nerds ever get anything right. There are still some who think Militia and Armsmaster are faking their gender."

"Wait, what now?" I looked at Miss Militia, who shrugged.

"They've claimed that of all of us at one point or another." She chuckled. "I've been accused of being a man since I was a Ward. It is odd, and annoying, but I've learned to ignore it."

"Who was that one villain out in Chicago who flashed her tits when people kept accusing her of being a man?" Battery asked.

"Hold on," I stared around the group, shocked. "I uh, won't need to drop my pants to keep people from doing the same, will I? Because I get stripped often enough these days."

Assault guffawed, apparently amused at my line of thinking.

I wonder if he knew I was serious. I mean, I'm not insecure, I just don't want to see Rule 63 art of myself floating around.

Anyways, I had a good breakfast. The real fun would come once the Wards and Panacea were done with school. 


	11. Chapter 11 Interlude

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 **Topic: A guy with a tail at a buffet?**

 **In: Boards ► Brockton Bay ► Cape Doings ► Heroes**

 **SamwiseDamng** (Original Poster) (Cape Groupie) (Total Nerd)

Posted on February 27, 2011:

Today me and some friends went to our favorite buffet to celebrate my buddy asking his crush out. While we were there, a guy sits down with three trays full of food. I thought it was weird, because he wasn't like the fatter guys you see go there and start testing how much food a buffet can really make. Then the guy started eating.

HOLY SHIT, could this guy eat! He was scarfing down piles of food a foot high in seconds! Then, while he was eating, something came out from under his shirt. I mean, you can already read the title, so I guess you've figured it out, but he had a tail. It was about three feet long, with spiky hair.

Anyways, when I figured out he was a parahuman, I took a picture. But I'm not going to put it on here, cause outing people ain't cool.

Then we were told by our waiter to leave. I hung out for a bit afterwards, and thats when I saw him. Assault! Full costume and grinning like a maniac, walking into the restuarant! So I think I saw Assault going into the restuarant to recruit a new parahuman!

So yeah, weird day, but I saw Assault and a new parahuman up close! Woot!

 **(Showing Page 1 of 6)**

 **► Superlame** (Pantswearer)

Replied on February 27, 2011:

I'd say 'pics or it didn't happen', but you already said you wouldn't put any up, sooo how'd this guy look?

 **► SamwiseDamng** (Original Poster) (Cape Groupie) (Total Nerd)

Replied on February 27, 2011:

Superlame I'm pretty sure that would also be kinda messed up. But he was okay looking. Dark skin and kinda muscular. Not gonna give more of a description though.

 **► dragonichope** (Smarter Dude)

Replied on February 27, 2011:

So Assault came by, without Battery? I thought they were joined at the hip or something?

 **► White Fairy** (Veteran Member)

Replied on February 27, 2011:

I have to commend you for your restraint. Lots of people who manage to get photos of new parahumans before they can get costumed tend to put them up as soon as possible. That said, maybe you should delete them? I don't like the idea of someone trying to track you down and use you to find out this new parahumans identity.

 **► SamwiseDamng** (Original Poster) (Cape Groupie) (Total Nerd)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

That explains the PM's I've been getting Thank god for the ability to block!

 **► SamwiseDamng** (Original Poster) (Cape Groupie) (Total Nerd)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Oh shit, the parahuman I saw is Kong! That is so cool! Isn't that a bit fast for a new cape though? Recruited one day and beating up Empire and ABB the next?

 **► dragonichope** (Smarter Dude)

Replied on February 28, 2010:

SamwiseDamng Damn. I mean, I get why they sent him out so quick, but your right, that is really fast.

 **► SamwiseDamng** (Original Poster) (Cape Groupie) (Total Nerd)

Replied on February 28, 2010:

Looked cool as hell though. He might be a bit buffer than the last time I saw him, too. Though that might be because he lost his shirt.

 **► ahole66** (New Member)

Replied on February 28, 2010:

 _This comment was deleted due to racism and inflammatory remarks. Enjoy your one-month ban. –Tin Mother_

 **►Bagrat** (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied on February 28, 2010:

For those who don't know, here is where people are now discussing Kong (Link). Also, ahole's name is pretty appropriate apparently.

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 **Topic: Got my life saved today**

 **In: Boards ► Brockton Bay ► Cape Doings ► Heroes**

 **jamiesweet** (Original Poster) (New Member)

Posted on February 28, 2011:

So I was shopping today, trying to get a cute outfit for a date, and then the Empire 88 and Azian Bad Boys started killing each other. I didn't know what was happening at first. I mean, I've heard gunshots on tv before, but in real life they were so much louder. The next thing I know, people are trying to kill each other. The second I knew there were Empire running around, I tried to get out. I'm black, I knew there was no way I was making it out without running.

But then a bald white guy tackled me. He had me by the throat. He was laughing, pressing a knife against me. I thought I was going to die.

That was when I heard a sound like a hurricane. Next thing I knew the Empire guy was flying like he'd gotten shot out of a cannon. He slammed into a windshield.

The guy who saved me was wearing an orange robe with blue dragons on it, and had a long tail. He was tall, had hair that was spiky and curly at the same time, and damn fine muscles, like an MMA fighter. He told me to run, and I booked it.

When I got to safety I took my phone out and called the police, but I probably wasn't the only one doing it. But while my phone was out, the guy returned with three redheads. I started filming just in time to get him using cars as barricades. He kept running out in a blur to take out gangsters and save people, and I put all the footage online.

 **Link**

It was amazing. Eventually Assault and Battery showed up and started kicking ass too. Assault called the first guy 'Kong', so I guess he's a new cape.

I saw some videos other people put up **Link** , **Link** , **Link**. If you can't see those videos, just know that Kong ended up working with Glory Girl to take down Stormtiger! It was badass!

And he's so fast too! I've seen videos of Velocity fighting, and this was a lot like that.

I'm posting this from my house today. I don't know if Kong will ever see this, but if you do, thank you for saving my life.

 **(Showing Page 2 of 25)**

 **► derpritter** (Veteran Member)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Hooooleee. That guy must have won the lottery. Brute and mover powers, without a doubt. Did I miss an announcement? Isn't it weird for a new cape to just appear on the streets like that? Still, that was pretty badass to watch. Seeing Assault and Battery in the thick of it was pretty cool too

 **►XxVoid_CowboyxX**

Replied on February 28, 2011:

He might be ABB? I mean he has the dragons on his vest, and Glory Girl does hit him. Maybe Assault and Battery just didn't want to take him on?

 **► Glory Girl** (Verified Cape) (Cape Daughter) (New Wave)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

I actually hit him because of a misunderstanding. He's a hero, for sure. Pretty cool guy too. Nice abs

 **►XxVoid_CowboyxX**

Replied on February 28, 2011:

OMG, GLORY GIRL JUST TALKED TO ME! THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE!

 **► jamiesweet** (Original Poster) (New Member)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Cowboy, yeah, he was taking down ABB like no tomorrow, including in the videos you must have watched. He was a hero. Besides, you really think Assault and Battery would have backed down?

Glory Girl You were really cool in that fight! Flying around like an avenging angel!

 **► Glory Girl** (Verified Cape) (Cape Daughter) (New Wave)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Cowboy Calm down man 8/

jamiesweet Thanks! I kinda wish I could have taken down Stormtiger myself, but Kong was pretty cool! I don't know if that's his real cape name though, apparently the PRT haven't decided on one yet.

 **► Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

So what are we thinking about what his powers? My contacts in the PRT are being kind of hush-hush about him, probably because they haven't officially adknowledged him, but I think I agree with derpritter about him being a brute/mover at the least.

The monkey tail is funny though. It looks like he hides it under his shirt for most of the fight, but you can see it appearing every once in a while when he isn't paying attention.

But yeah, super-strength, super speed, invulnerability? That is a damn effective power set.

 **► XxVoid_CowboyxX**

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Are we sure he has super-strength? He might just be hitting them really fast, like a baseball getting thrown? Plus his invulnerability could be him dodging?

 **► Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Cowboy Not likely. There's a point in jamie's video where you see him slow down to move the truck, and he also slows down to let people hit him with bullets. You can clearly see him tanking hits then, not using pure super-speed.

Weird note, but I keep getting deja vu while watching him fight. Even at a blur most of the time, there's something familiar about it.

 **► jamiesweet** (Original Poster) (New Member)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Familiar? What do you mean?

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 **(Showing Page 2 of 25)**

 **► Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

jamiesweet I don't know. There's just some moments where it feels like he's doing things I've seen before. I can't exactly put a pin on why though.

 **► xxVoid_Cowboyxx**

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Maybe he's not a new cape? A reformed villain possibly, or a parahuman from another country?

 **► DatBass** (Verified Awesome)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Did Brockton Bay _need_ another parahuman though? I mean, they have how many capes over there? What about other cities man? I can think of maybe three that could use another powerhouse. Hell, forget nazis, send him after those Fallen assholes.

 **► Gryphony** (False Mythological Creature)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Are you kidding? Most of the capes in the Bay are supervillains! Hell, Lung has taken on an Endbringer in hand-to-hand combat. They need all the help they can get.

Besides, there's nothing saying Kong (Though apparently that name may not be official) can't be loaned out to other areas. Flechette ends up on new teams all the time.

 **► DatBass** (Verified Awesome)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Yeah, but she's a Ward. I don't know how old Kong is, but I haven't seen a lot of teenagers with that sort of muscle. He has to be in his twenties, not to get into serious identity speculation. So he'll probably Protectorate.

EDIT: **be** in the Protectorate I mean.

 **► GstringGirl** (New Member)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

so can we talk about his muscles? because he has really nice muscles. i like his abs (swoon)

 **► jamiesweet** (New Member)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

GstringGirl I know right! He's so chiseled! And so heroic, and he seemed so nice!

 **► SamwiseDamng** (Cape Groupie) (Total Nerd)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Holeee. I saw this guy in a buffet yesterday! I even posted about it. And damn, he really does have muscles. That's pretty immasculating.

 **► Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Huh, about time people started talking about his appearence. Guess we have another for the list of superhero beefcake, huh?

 **► Bathory** (Veteran Member)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Ladies and gentlemen (Picture Link) introducing the Monkey God of Fitness!

I wonder when we get to see the superhero diet that gives him that build

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 **(Showing Page 3 of 25)**

 **► XxVoid_CowboyxX**

Replied on February 28, 2011:

Can we please stop talking about his muscles? Seriously.

Also, I rewatched the videos. What was with him saying he hoped that ABB (censored) would become something more badass than a gangster?

 **► jamiesweet** (New Member)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

XxVoid_CowboyxX I like that part actually. It was really nice of him. It seemed like he wanted her to try and do something with her life.

 **► Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

I agree. The idea that he took the time to try and inspire towards something else, brief as it was, was very sweet. But then, I also see what Cowboy is saying. The ABB did kill people after all.

 **► XxVoid_CowboyxX**

Replied on February 28, 2011:

She's a murderer, she doesn't deserve anything but jail.

 **► jamiesweet** (New Member)

Replied on February 28, 2011:

I'm not saying she shouldn't go to jail, but as mad as I am at those assholes, that doesn't mean I think they're all irredeemable! If someone really wants a second chance, shouldn't we give them one?

 **► XxVoid_CowboyxX**

Replied on February 28, 2011:

No

 **► White Fairy** (Veteran Member)

Replied on March 1, 2011:

First, happy March 1st everyone

Second, I think I agree with jamiesweet. While I don't think we should be giving the damn murderhobo a second chance, trying to rehabilitate normal people who might have been involved in odd circumstances seems like something the law is meant for.

There has been some bad news though. According to some reports, the gangs have begun to move. Stormtiger getting captured has caused one hell of a ruckus. For some reason the Merchants are making moves, the Empire 88 are mobilizing, and the ABB are being quieter than usual. It's almost like the calm before a storm.

I'm not blaming the heroes though. They saved lives, and took down a dangerous villain. But something is happening, and Stormtiger's arrest is a big reason why.

 **► SamwiseDamng** (Cape Groupie) (Total Nerd)

Replied on March 1, 2011:

Hey, at least we have the Monkey God of Fitness protecting us! Heh.

 **► Bathory** (Veteran Member)

Replied on March 1, 2011:

Heh! I was hoping that would catch on! By the way, did anyone see that music video someone made cutting together the fight? So cool They included the Monkey God of Fitness thing!

 **► GstringGirl** (New Member)

Replied on March 1, 2011:

Yeah, I saw it too! I liked the music they added to it. Glory Girl looked so beautiful in it.

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 **(Showing Page 4 of 25)**

 **► Reave** (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied on March 1, 2011:

I've been allowed to give some news. The newest member of the Protectorate, who has yet to be given a cape name, responded to reports of gunfire while doing a practice patrol with Battery and Assault. As he could outrun them, he ran ahead, where, according to him, he saved you first jamiesweet. He defended an area until Assault and Battery arrived, then rushed to aid Glory Girl. After a brief altercation, the pair worked together to defeat Stormtiger.

Later reports showed that Stormtiger was supposed to be a distraction, and had plans to pull out once he had served his role. It is unknown why he had no other parahuman backup, but Stormtiger is in custody.

That's all I can really say. For now, the new parahuman will be officially announced as a member of the Brockton Bay Protectorate soon.

 **► SamwiseDamng** (Cape Groupie) (Total Nerd)

Replied on March 1, 2011:

If he's getting annouced, I say his name should be Monkey God!

 **► Massmaster**

Replied on March 1, 2011:

They aren't exactly putting it to a vote That said, maybe Kong is perfect? King Kong is pretty badass after all.

 **► AnalEyes** (Verified Cape)

Replied on March 1, 2011:

Damn. That video was sick as shit. Like watching an old kung fu movie on high-speed.

The guy is probably a former killer though. Speaking as a guy whos gotten good at analyzing capes, this guy is holding back on killing everyone he was meeting. There's an instinct there you only see in military guys. He's holding back, but he's either killed before, or is on the verge.

 **► Bagrat** (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied on March 1, 2011:

AnalEyes, that's a pretty hefty thing to accuse someone of. He reminds me of something I've seen before, but every thing we've seen so far says he's a nice guy. Or at the least, he's pretty casual, according to the footage. Hell, I could see myself drinking a beer with him.

 **► reichmanforyou** (Temp-banned)

Replied on March 1, 2011:

 _This comment was deleted due to racism and inflammatory remarks. Insults towards others based on their perceived race, religion, or ethnicity, will not be tolerated. Enjoy your one-month ban. -Tin Mother_

 **► White Fairy** (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied on March 1, 2011:

Ahhh, racism. There you are. Rearing your ugly head.

It is pretty funny when the Nazi's froth at the mouth with every non-white hero. Put's a puncture in the idea of racial superiority, don't it?

Seriously, Kong did good work. For now, we just have a bunch of speculation on him. He's powerful, that's for sure, but we tend to act like this whenever a new Parahuman shows up. I doubt he'll do anything really crazy.

 **► SamwiseDamng** (Cape Groupie) (Total Nerd)

Replied on March 1, 2011:

I get the feeling he'll surprise you.

 **► White Fairy** (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied on March 1, 2011:

Maybe. I remember a time people thought Lung was just another cape. Then, BOOM. He becomes the guy who fought Leviathan to a standstill.

 **► XxVoid_CowboyxX**

Replied on March 1, 2011:

I really doubt he's going to be fighting Endbringers in hand to hand combat anytime soon. He's not **that** strong.

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	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: This chapter could become a victim of the information blackout I'm under. See, I'm still in the Moroccan countryside, so all my googling has to be in sessions. Therefore, Glory Girl's powers and such are based on everything I could grab on the Dallons. I'm fairly certain I did well though. I tend to grab as much as I can during these sessions. What I'm saying is, I had a blast writing this, and I hope you guys enjoy it.**

 **-**

After eating, I left for the gym. While the weights were useless to me, seeing others spar would be great, and I might even go in myself. Now that I knew for certain I could copy martial arts moves, turning my Saiyan instincts and body-read technique towards absorbing as much as I could seemed valuable.

I was surprised when I entered the large room to see Linebacker Genius there, pumping iron at a bench-press. He immediately switched me out for his original spot, a far less muscular man than either of us, who was obviously terrified at the prospect of helping Linebacker Genius.

Also, Linebacker Genius' name was Bill.

"The whole concept of your powers is fascinating," he said casually as he slowly pumped around 200 pounds of weight up and down. "It's plain that the theme is martial arts. I've been looking into old texts, mythological type stuff. And everything fits. Your ability to adapt to intense environments and workouts is obviously based on the old tales of martial arts masters doing the same to themselves. The laser blasts are a variation on the more mythical arts, which include stories of people controlling fire and other elements with their chakra or ki or what have you."

"Maybe you should switch to a higher weight?" I asked, impressed at the fact he was still speaking so casually.

"Nah, I'm a low-weight, high-repetition kind of guy."

The guy who'd been spotting him earlier glanced over to give Bill a shocked look.

"But yeah, all of this just means we can start pushing you even further. Dauntless' powers may get stronger, but there is no real way to increase the speed of that increase. With you, we can simply see how much you can take, and how far you can go."

"Sounds good to me." As I spoke, I kept one eye on the boxing ring, only half listening. Inside, two PRT guys were sparring, watched by their cheering friends. I activated my super-speed at brief intervals, slowing things down just enough to make sure I got a good look. I had no idea just how much my powers needed to absorb martial arts, but making sure I got a good look at every muscle twitch and instinctive movement seemed like a good idea.

"But that aside, your powers are just so cool mechanically! You see, most Brute's powers don't actually have anything to do with their muscles. Glory Girl, for example uses a force field to push out from herself and generate force. You on the other hand seem to actually tear and strain your muscles so that when they heal..."

At this point, Bill started going into some lecture about the processes behind muscular regeneration and strength building. I tried to nod at the right parts but my train of thought was still rolling. I think of myself as a gamer. And any good video gamer knows to minmax the _shit_ out of anything that helps you get stronger, faster. As an example, let's say you have two different pieces of equipment. One gives you twice as much strength. The other makes any improvements to your mind and body increase by a tiny amount.

A good gamer takes the second one. Twice the strength sounds good on any level, but increasing your learning speed just has way too much potential to ignore. Why double your strength in a second, when you can triple it in a week?

So, as I listened to Bill with one ear, I watched the PRT guys box, wrestle, and joke around, using super-speed, body-read, and my natural abilities. As I did, I also ran ki through my body.

I was very careful about it. I wanted to learn how to control the energy, to learn how to make it work for me. After all, ki was a mystery in a lot of ways. I had long suspected it was responsible for the physics breaking aspects of my powers.

When I went into my super-speed state, I was somehow able to perceive information at a quicker pace. I could see things in slow motion, and perceive the high speed movement of a fly's wings. Yet, that isn't possible. You can't 'speed up' your brain, not without damaging things. At least, not to my knowledge, I like to think I'm smart enough to know when I'm not an expert.

So ki not only increases physical ability, but the mental ones necessary to back them up. Makes sense, in the way that things science hasn't caught up to analyzing just yet tend to make sense. Just because ancient civilizations didn't understand what gravity is doesn't mean they didn't see its effects in action. Of course, once the lab came back with the studies of my ki blasts, maybe we'd have a start to the scientific study of ki energy.

I may make jokes about people using science to study magic sometimes, but I actually have a lot of faith in the scientific method, even when applied to things not commonly seen as scientific.

Although, how much I would understand about all that would depend on if being a Saiyan was making me dumb or not. Fingers crossed for maintaining my cognitive thought processes.

"Yo, Kong!" Assault, dressed in his full costume as usual, poked his head into through the gym doors. People looked towards him as he gazed around the room, before he saw me helping Bill. "Hey, the kids are here!"

"Thanks man!" I looked down at Bill. "Gotta head out. You want me to help out for a bit longer?"

"Nah, I think you got a good enough look at the guys sparring." He chuckled at the surprised look I gave him. "Give me some credit. Any of the weights around here are too light to be any good for a brute at your level, not until we get the new equipment later on in the week. And I doubt you were here to spot me."

He placed the weights on the bar, sighing slightly. "Anyways, I'll go join the sparring ring. In the meantime, don't you have some youngsters to talk to?"

I nodded, walking towards Assault and leaving Bill to continue his workout. I gave Assault a handshake, grinning at him. "Didn't you have patrol? What are you doing here bro?"

"Ah, Dauntless and Triumph owe me," he said casually, smiling. "I wanted to see if I could get any use out of training with you and the kids."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He chuckled. "Don't tell anyone, but I've spent a lot of time training my powers. You don't get this good on incredible looks, charm, and sexual prowess alone."

"Man, you must have had to train **really** damn hard to make up for your weaknesses in those areas, then."

"Ah, Kong, jealousy isn't a good look for you."

"When I'm so naturally amazing on every level, I have to show some flaws somewhere, otherwise the government would cut me open to see why I'm so perfect." I laid a hand on my chest, sighing with fake sadness.

"I guess one of those flaws is self-delusion. Sad, but I guess when you find yourself next to me, you have to start propping yourself somehow." Assault patted my shoulder, giving me a pitying look that turned into a grin when I chuckled.

Our joking lasted until we reached the doors. Assault reached for the handles, but I stopped him.

"Real quick? Is Piggot letting this go down to get a better idea of who I am? Of what I might want?"

He looked over at me, hands still on the handles. Then he opened the doors, not saying anything else. Which was pretty much a confirmation to me.

The room was a large, open area, with a massive blue mat in the center made to soften falls. Other than that, there was nothing. Just hard concrete all around. I could see a few cracks and dents along the hard cement, and a bunker style room on the far end, presumably for spectators. From what I could tell, the room was for nothing but superhuman combat. Perfect.

Inside were Vista and Clockblocker, both in full costume. The pair stood in the center of the room, talking calmly to one another, and turned as we entered.

"Sup," I said to them, waving placidly. "How was priso- I mean, how was school?"

They grinned, though with Clockblocker's full face mask I had only the movement just above his chin to confirm that.

"Well, they gave us some extra time out in the yard today, so it was nice. Food was still crap though," Clockblocker said.

"So what's first!?" Vista seemed eager, looking between us, a hope for violence in her face that made me smile fondly.

"Well." I looked at the doors behind us. After a moment I shrugged sadly. "I was hoping someone else would come, but—"

There was loud knocking, followed by a bright female voice I recognized. "Hey! Is this it?"

"I don't know," a much less enthusiastic voice said. "The lady at the front said it was the one."

The door opened. A head popped in. One wearing a tiara.

"Oh hey!" Victoria Dallon grinned at us, opening the door to show Panacea behind her.

"Sup!" I said to the pair, smiling at Panacea. "Glad you made it." I looked over at Glory Girl as they walked over. I thought about asking why she was here. Didn't Gallant have a date with her? Then again, saying that would mean I knew Gallant's 'secret' relationship with Glory Girl, so…

"I wasn't expecting you," I said to Glory Girl.

"Me neither." The distaste in Vista's voice was actually really well hidden.

"Yeah, well"-the blonde powerhouse shrugged, grinning-"When Amy told me she was going to train with the Monkey Cape, I had to see what was going down!"

"I really need a code name soon," I muttered under my breath before turning a smile to Glory Girl. "Are you going to join in?"

"Sure." She put a hand on Panacea's shoulder, grinning. "Have to back up my little sis after all."

Clockblocker seemed nervous. Vista and Panacea were varying levels of dismayed, though Vista had more anger to it. Panacea seemed more… robotic somehow. Like she was running on autopilot. Assault was looking around curiously. And I was thinking things over.

It was pretty clear that Glory Girl wasn't used to people saying no to her, and had seen little wrong with going somewhere she hadn't been invited. You have to admire that kind of confidence.

"Well, I figure we'll do some sparring." I looked around the group. To be honest, I hadn't come in with a plan. I'd just thought, 'Let's train with superheroes!' and went from there. Now that I was on the spot, with five people looking at me, I racked my brain for ideas.

"We have two options." I explained, faking confidence where there was none. "We can do team battles, or one-on-one. The goal either way is find weaknesses in our fighting styles, as well as figure out ways to work together and alone against bad guys."

I looked over the others again, crossing my arms. "Now, Panacea, you are the least combat-oriented of us, so anything we do for you would have an emphasis on dodging and moving about at speed. I'm talking parkour medic here." She seemed ready to say something. Realizing she was going to mention my promise to teach her to fly, I hurriedly said, "I want to hold off on any serious training until we get one-on-one time though."

She gave me an unreadable look. I used body-read, and saw signs of suspicion and disbelief. So she probably thought I might not be able to teach her to fly at all. I ignored that in favor of speaking again.

"So, single matches will probably be best. Just to get a good overview and such. I'm the newbie, so I think me taking you guys on first would be best."

"Uh, you sure about that?" Clockblocker said. Yep, definitely nervous.

"It _is_ just sparring," I reminded him. "Besides, I'm the one taking on people who bring down guys like me for a literal living. Not to mention your power kinda counters everything."

"Yeah, right up until a fist enters my skull at super-speed." He held his head dramatically. "I like my face, Kong. I've had it for as long as I can remember."

I chuckled at that. "Okay, so who's fir—"

"Me!" Glory Girl called out, a wide grin on her face as she raised her hand. "Let's do this!"

"Color me surprised," Assault said sarcastically, apparently familiar with Glory Girl. He looked over at me. "Gotta be honest bro, this might not go well."

"Maybe." I walked towards one side of the mat. "But life is risk, right? Good lives anyways. Boring ones don't get to do cool stuff."

"That's what I always say." Glory Girl flew to the other side, clearly knowing what to do. "So, what are the rules?"

That was easy enough to decide. "No groin shots."

"Well that's no fun." The blonde powerhouse winked at me. I wondered if she realized a hit there could incapacitate women as well, but realized she was probably teasing me.

"We aren't doing this for points either, and we aren't going for knock-outs. We'll just go for about five minutes, try and see how we can improve." I looked over at Clockbloker. "Can you count us off?"

"Sure." He walked to the center of the mat, standing at the halfway point between Glory Girl and I. He looked between us. When he spoke again, it was in the overdramatic tone of a ring announcer. "Ladies, gentlemen, and Assault!"

"Heh." Assault smirked at that, not the least offended.

"Welcome to the main event!" Clockblocker pointed his finger at Glory Girl, half-laughing as he spoke. "In this corner! The Blonde Avenger! Alexandria-Lite! She's here to kick ass, take names, and wear a way too-short skirt! Glooooory! Giiiiiiirl!"

She laughed, waving her hands in the air for the imaginary audience.

"And, in the opposite corner! The Monkey God of Fitness!"

"The what?" I blinked.

"The King Kong of the Bay! Bruce Lee's descendant!"

"Let's not go too far!" Assault called. "He's got some work to do to get _that_ strong!"

"The Cape who can't choose a name!"

"That's not my fault!" Clockblocker ignored me.

"The Mighty Koooooong, atleastuntilhegetsarealcodename!"

At that point I was laughing too hard to focus. Clockblocker bowed as we all clapped at his theatrics, then backed away.

"Okay. On three." He looked between us.

Glory Girl lowered into a stance eagerly, something I recognized as a combination of standard self-defense tactics and her going for something she thought as cool. In her defense, she did look cool, bouncing slightly as she smirked at me.

My body shifted, legs and arms moving into a stance of my own. She stared into my eyes, unblinking. I made sure to blink evenly. At the speeds I move, clear eyesight is a must, and unblinking staring contests seemed like a bad idea.

"One!"

Glory Girl. One of the top contenders for strength and durability in the Worm universe. She was experienced in combat. More than that, she loved it. Loved being a hero, kicking butt, so on and so forth. She was confident, standing there.

"Two!"

Super-speed brought things to a nice, slow pace. I focused on my ki again, trying to make it flow through me to increase my abilities, but it slipped my grasp. Despite that, I still saw Amy gasp out of the corner of my eye. Apparently she was seeing something in my attempt.

"Three!"

The fight was on.

-

Glory Girl's opening was brutal in its simplicity. She flew straight at me, fist pulled back, a wide grin on her face.

I blasted her in the face.

Of course, there was no way it would hurt her. According to Wildbow, her powers allowed her to tank a blast from Scion without a scratch, and that guy could pop cities. No way could my comparatively weaker blast hurt her.

That wasn't the point though. Glory Girl yelped in shock as a round yellow ball slammed into her force field and exploded. She had no idea of my new power, and hadn't expected it. The explosion blinded her briefly as well. I moved in at super-speed. The next thing she saw was me.

I didn't punch or kick her. The truth was, I wasn't sure if her field had been dropped at all, and I didn't want to risk punching her in the face without knowing if she could take it. Instead I grabbed her by the shoulders, spun around, and threw her. As fast as I was, she had no way of countering me.

She stopped mere seconds after I threw her, stopping in midair and coming back at me, grinning like a madwoman. I watched her fly towards me, fist cocked back once more. I didn't move a muscle, studying her.

Once again, her fist slamming into me hurt like hell. I was sent flying from the point of impact on my chest, and slammed into the wall behind me with a crack of concrete. Air exploded past my lips, and something in me felt horribly hurt.

It was cool actually. Being blasted into a wall after a punch is pretty much a staple of the superhero genre, anime or comic book.

I spat to the side, then grinned through the pain at Glory Girl. "That all you got?"

She zoomed forward again, fist outstretched. I ducked her punch, letting it imbed into the wall behind me. Then, with all the strength I had, I punched her in the face. As planned, all I hit was an invisible barrier around her skin. She didn't even move, simply kicking out at me.

My finger flicked her in the stomach.

She went flying back, eyes wide with pain. Her heels skidded against the floor, then she was rolling back.

Everyone went still. I wiped my lips, noting the streak of red left where I'd cleaned them on my arm. I looked up at Glory Girl, ignoring the others.

She slowly rose up, only to fall to one knee as she clutched her stomach.

"Hurts, right?"

She looked up at me as I rubbed my own chest.

"It's why we practice. So that we can get over the pain, fight through it, and kick ass with blood on our lips and a smile on our face." I got into a stance. "I'm faster than you. But your shield gives you invulnerability against my attacks, and you're stronger. As far as I can tell, a really big hit shorts out the shield for a second, but we can figure it out so you can work around that weakness."

I smirked at her. "What do you think? Want to keep fighting, get some blood on your lips? Or you quitting?"

She stared at me. For a moment, I wondered if I'd screwed up. In the books, from what I'd read, the initial shock of realizing she was actually vulnerable to something had been enough to throw her for a loop. And I didn't want to do that to her. But at the same time, Crawler had managed to hit her with acid after breaking her shield, nearly killing her.

So I wanted to help her. By smacking her until the lesson came across.

I wonder if that was the Piccolo or Vegeta part of me coming out?

Glory Girl rose up as I mused. She looked me in the eyes. Then she was flying towards me. She was cautious now, her punches far more conservative, less-showy. I blocked her blows, wincing at the force of them, then punched her in the face again.

She backed away before my second blow could land, then dived back in, face scrunched up in focus. I nodded.

"Good," I told her as I blocked and countered. "But what if you fight someone with ranged attacks like mine? They'd be able to keep you back, and simply destroy your shield before killing you." I wrapped her right arm in my left, trapping it, then punched her in the face, followed by stopping my second punch an inch from her face before she could escape, making it clear that, with her shield down, she would have. "Grappling techniques are also a must. Who trained you by the way?"

She forced herself from my grasp, punching me in the jaw. As I stepped back, feeling my mouth for any broken teeth, she flew upwards. "My dad!"

I responded with a ki blast. She flew upwards again, dodging it. Suddenly I was playing surface-to-air missile to her fighter jet. She dodged and weaved through the air, and I sent wave after wave of force after her. Several of my blasts hit her, but apparently they couldn't shatter her shield the way my stronger punches could. Once she realized that, she dive-bombed me at full-speed, roaring with joy and rage.

The blonde powerhouse slammed me into the ground. She rose up, sitting on my chest. She punched me in the face once, then twice, as fast she could, my head ringing under the blows.

God did that hurt. Even Stormtiger's best didn't match up to Glory Girl's pissed off blows. I growled, trying to block her, lashing out as well. She snarled back, sounding more animal than girl, and shattered the concrete beneath us with her blows.

I snapped my lower half up and wrapped my legs around her neck, pulling her over backwards to slam the back of her head against the ground. The blow didn't get through her shield, but it was enough to back flip off the ground and escape.

Without knowing why, I roared at her. The sound was like nothing I'd ever released before. Something less than human.

She roared back. I felt her aura flare around her as a wave of emotions. Anger and fear, flowing together like an intoxicating drink, making me half want to curl up and simply absorb the delicious flood of emotion.

We zoomed towards each other, me with super-speed, her with flight. My fist hit her in the stomach with both super-speed and strength. She grabbed me by the arm, spun around, and launched me towards the ceiling.

I reoriented myself in the air and slammed into the ceiling feet first, cratering it. Then I bent my knees and pushed off towards Glory Girl. She avoided me by flying out of the way, and I left an ankle-high depression where I landed. Then I ran at Glory Girl and started punching her. No full force blows, just hitting her over and over. She raised her arms, trying to force me back. I grabbed her wrists, pulled them down, and headbutted her in the face with all my strength.

Bad idea. Her shield shattered, but my head was ringing. Still, my anger was enough for me to push through. I gave her a light slap to the forehead that carried all the force of a solid punch, giving her just as much of a headache as me.

She staggered back, shouting in pain. I swept her feet out from under her, only for her to float instead of fall, zooming back from me.

I clenched my fist, hard, ready to attack again. Noticing that she'd somehow torn my shirt during the fight, I ripped it off. I growled, then unclenched my fist before clenching it again, feeling like I couldn't tighten it enough.

For some reason, despite my strange anger, I was smiling. And so was she.

We looked into each other's eyes. Body-read told me why she was happy. She was going all out. Finally, she had someone who she could smash, and not break. Someone who tested her, made her feel strong without being weak themselves.

"You know Victoria." My knees bent slightly. "We're not so different."

She didn't respond. She didn't have to. Her body told me what I needed to know.

-

For the next minute and a half, we sparred. When it was over, Assault called it. Glory Girl had won, in my mind. The fact was, her shield could let her tank hits, and I just wasn't willing to simply blast her with my strongest blows. For the brief seconds she was vulnerable, she could be hurt as easily as any human being. Whereas she could hit me at her strongest and be assured I could take it.

That said, we were both bruised and bloody. There were a few spots of red on the blue mat in the center of the room, and twice the craters there had been.

The taste of copper and sweat was strong on my tongue. I spat blood to the side as I walked over to the others. Glory Girl was nursing a nasty black eye, and I must have had one of my own, as well as bruises. Still, we were both grinning.

"So my problem," I said when we had gotten to the others. "Is simple."

"You're an adrenaline junkie?" Assault asked, looking between us in bemusement.

"No." I pondered that. "Well, maybe a little."

"You're crazy!" Vista said. She looked at Glory Girl, and seemed to take a little pleasure in the sight of her bruises and bumps.

"Okay, honestly, what cape both enjoys their job and isn't a crazy adrenaline junkie?"

"I'm not," Panacea said, raising her hand hesitantly. I gave her a look, but decided not to comment.

"Look, my actual problem is that I'm having trouble with my super-speed. I keep planning things out when they should be instinctual. I'm leagues faster than Glory Girl, but she was able to hit me in between the beats of my thoughts."

"Yeah, well this is the first time since I triggered that I've actually been _hit_." Glory Girl laughed.

"You okay?" Panacea asked, looking worried. "You want me to heal you?"

"Don't," I said.

"What?" Panacea and Glory Girl said in unison.

Before speaking, I stretched. A small pop in my back was followed by a flood of relief. A sigh of relief left my lips.

"Maybe just our faces, so we don't get weird questions." I told Panacea. "But you don't need to heal every bump and bruise I think. If we heal naturally, our bodies will get stronger overtime. And hell, we shouldn't use you for a crutch when we have booboos."

"Booboos?" Assault mumbled, cocking his head to the side.

She eyed me. I mouthed the word 'later' to her. I really had to discuss her practice of overhealing to make up for her issues. I read enough fanfics to understand that Amy was suffocating. Her powers, like all powers in this universe, were made for conflict, and her unwillingness to use it as such meant that she was constantly getting tempted to use them to make diseases and straight up maim people. That's just how shards work. They push their holders to fight, to break shit. Which meant that her constant worries about turning to evil were getting compounded by the constant images of atrocities her powers were pushing her towards.

Amy's refusal to use them for anything but healing, her personal issues with her mom and Victoria, and the constant pushing from her powers to incite conflict, were tearing her apart.

I could see it in her. Body-read told me the truth, clear as day. She was pulling into herself. Maybe she wasn't as bad as she could get. It took a long time for things to get to the point where she ended up in the Birdcage. But she was on her way.

"What do you think, Sailor Moon?" I asked Glory Girl jokingly.

"You would be a terrible Tuxedo Kamen. You just aren't fruity enough." She smirked at the shell-shocked look on my face. "Looked up Sailor Moon after you made fun of me last time." With that explanation, she turned to her sister. "Yeah, he's right. As long as anything isn't broken, maybe leave it." She winced. "Well, and the bruises. I don't want Mom yelling at me cause of this."

"Oh shit." I blinked, suddenly realizing how this looked. "I just beat up a teenage girl…"

Assault coughed, looking embarrased. "Yeah, that actually is pretty shady. Didn't think of that."

Fudgenipples.

Panacea placed a hand against my arm. As I watched, the bruises on my arms began to shrink. It was really cool, watching blood flow back into veins underneath my skin. The feeling was a bit icky, but my face and arms suddenly stopped throbbing. I sighed in relief again, patting Panacea on her head in thanks. She squeaked, surprised. "Thanks."

"No problem," She said.

"Okay, who's next?" I looked over at Clockblocker and Vista. "What do you guys think?"

"I think I'm having second thoughts," Clockblocker said easily. "Seriously, I don't like getting hit. My face is amazing. You can't see it, but I'm telling you, I'm a damn heartthrob of a man."

"I can heal you if you get hurt," Panacea reminded him.

"Yeah, but what would you do about my emotional pain?" Clockblocker dramatically held a hand to his heart, shaking his head sadly. Glory Girl snickered, then winced.

"I'm down," Assault and Vista said at the same time. They looked at each other, surprised.

"Yeah, that works." I cracked my neck. "You two against me."

"Getting kinda arrogant, aren't you, bro?" Assault said. He sounded legitimately annoyed too.

"No, actually I'm fully expecting to get my ass kicked." He blinked. "There are tons of parahumans with powers that effect environments and mess with velocity and stuff. I need to know what to expect. And this way is safest."

"Are you sure this isn't you being an adrenaline junkie again?" Vista narrowed her eyes at me. "Cause you're still smiling."

"…Maybe."

-

I got my ass kicked. Massively so. Assault and Vista, working together, were a damn strong team. Together, they turned my surroundings and speed against me. What does super-speed matter when your opponents can either distort space to their advantage or mess with kinetic energy, momentum, and inertia?

Vista would mess with the distances of the room, making my running and jumping land in just the wrong places. She was a master at it. I have to imagine that her mind was clicking at an insane pace to compensate for my speed, because even at my fastest it was tough for me to tap her. (Just small blows, nowhere near painful.) One second I'd be sprinting towards her at a full sprint, the next she was twenty feet to my left. Another time I was jumping towards Assault, then he was somehow under me, as though the floor had dropped. The ceiling, walls, and floor dipped, dropped, and lengthened at random intervals, making me feel like I was inside the insane world created by a funhouse mirror, the world distorting as I rushed and leaped.

Assault was almost as bad. When I jumped, all my momentum would disappear. When I hit him, my blow's force would negated and redirected into me. I felt like a movie getting switched from play to fast-forward and back, constantly moving back and forth between super-speed and normal speed even as Assault turned my own force against me.

More than once, I'd tap Assault gently with a palm to his chest, and he'd respond with a blow that carried both my force and his own. Vista kept appearing when I least expected while throwing rocks at me. For the purposes of the exercise we considered them 'grenades', as those were one of the things on the list that could conceivably hurt me, and so Vista was focused on moving to vantage points where she could tag me while Assault slowed me down.

That said, I gave them a hell of a fight. My speed was enough that I could quickly respond to the changes in the battlefield as they came. While Assault could redirect my energy and stop his own, I could still keep him on his toes. Vista, while definitely the superhero equivalent of a prodigy, had trouble dealing with my super-speed at times, and got tired from the constant use of her powers. Both of them got tired as the fight went on, forced to compensate for me. When I realized that, I went into overdrive. I ran around the room like crazy, leaping, ducking, and just sprinting, forcing the two to use their powers to defend themselves as I aimed to hit them gently.

They won, same as Glory Girl. At least, I'm saying they did. When time was up they'd scored more hits on me than I did on them. They were more tired though, since my stamina was unnaturally high. I also didn't use my ki blasts. The damn things were too lethal. My kingdom for Solar Flare!

I was overall really pleased with the results of the session. I wanted to continue, but then Panacea and Glory Girl got a text on their phones.

"It's our mom," Panacea explained to me as she looked down at her phone. "She wants to know where we are."

"You didn't tell her?" Assault asked, surprised.

"…No?" Panacea said with a wince.

"Ah man." He sighed. "Brandish already hates me. She's going to shove her fist into my mouth when she finds out about this."

"My mom hates you?" Glory Girl blinked. "Why? What did you do?"

Assault chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Ah, you know. Old memories and all that."

In other words, she'd somehow gotten wind of his criminal past, and was convinced he was still evil.

"If you knew she hated you, why didn't you say anything about it before when I mentioned Panacea was coming?" I asked.

"Because I live in the moment, Kong. In the moment."

"You didn't want to think about it."

"In. The. Moment."

"Well, she's pissed." Glory Girl closed her phone, sighing. "We've got to go. You want to do this again sometime?"

"Yeah." We clasped arms, then I looked over at Panacea. "Hey, come over here real quick. Quick lesson."

Panacea looked excited, apparently knowing what was coming and eager. The two of us walked over to the other side of the room.

"Okay. So here's the first step to flying," I began immediately. Her eyes were focused on me. "You sensed my ki when I sent out that blast earlier, right?"

"Yes." She nodded her head. "It flared for a second. And it feels different now. From other people I mean."

Really? Huh…

"How would you describe it?"

She quirked her head to the side, her hood slightly shifting. "Well it's… a different color, I guess? It's still bigger, but now it feels like it's supposed to do something, instead of just being there. I don't know."

Huh. So ki that is capable of being used feels different from standard ki?

"Okay, well you need to get your own ki to have the same feel," I said. "Start by meditating. Watch."

I sat down on the cold concrete floor, my legs crossed. I gathered my ki, making sure to go slowly and carefully as Panacea watched.

"You have to guide your energy. Like learning to control the flow of your blood. Then, learn to focus it. To make it do the impossible," A light came into life between my fingers. "And manifest. This is the first step. When you have more ki, you'll be able to unleash ki blasts like me, but that's chump stuff. Flight is the real challenge. From there, more crazy shit is on the path." I opened my eyes to look at her. "You got it?"

She was still staring at the light in between my palms. When I asked her again, her eyes flickered to meet mine. "What?"

"You got it? At least enough that you can start practicing until we meet again?"

"Oh! Yes, I think I get it."

"Good." The light disappeared from between my hands. "Now. One last thing. And this is essential." I lifted a finger sagely. "Pushups."

"…What?"

"Pull-ups. Jogging. Jazzercise." I smiled at the dawning horror on her face, brown eyes wide and mouth half-open. "Ki is the energy of life. The healthier and stronger you are, the more ki you'll have. So it's time to start working out scrub."

"F-For how long!?" she squeaked.

"If you like the idea of flying? For as long as it takes," I told her simply. "We'll draw up a program for you. I'm half tempted to have you do the '100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, 10 kilometer run, every single day.' workout, but you won't look good bald."

"What?" She looked both confused and horrified now.

"Trust me." I placed my hands on her shoulders, smiling. "This only so that you can fly, not turn into Bruce Lee. One day you'll be flying next to me and Glory Girl. We'll get you a plaque."

She frowned. "Wait. Can you even fly?"

"Not yet."

"Then…" Panacea looked at me. Suspicion flowed from her body. "How can you teach me?"

"Good question." I lifted a hand to point at the wall. A ki blast left my palm, and smashed into it. Panacea looked at the wall, then me. "I couldn't do that yesterday. My powers are based in learning martial arts. And in teaching them. If you focus, if you're disciplined, if me and you push ourselves to the pinnacle of human ability and beyond."

I was trying to be confident. But really, I was worried. Once again, she was doubting me. I prayed, hoping she would give me the chance.

I can't tell you why I wanted to teach her so badly.

Maybe it was her powers. If she could get as strong as Krillin, but have her powers as well, she'd become powerful enough to change the world in a big way. But she didn't have the mindset for that. She wanted to be a good person, but she wasn't geared for combat. She probably just wanted to fly for the innocence of a youthful dream, not because it might help her heroics.

Maybe it was her home life. I don't like seeing people unhappy. Men, women, children, if I could help someone out, I tend to do it. If I trained her, maybe I could give her a safe place, the way people had given me one when I was a kid.

Or maybe it was the Saiyan part of me. Maybe, when I told her my powers leaned towards teaching martial arts, I wasn't entirely lying. But that was debatable.

For now, I was simply happy to get a simple, if still suspicious, nod.

-

Panacea and Glory Girl left after that, leaving the rest of us.

"So, what do you guys want to do now?" Clockblocker asked as Assault locked up the training room. "Movie in the rec-room?"

"Nothing kung fu related," I said. "My mind keeps breaking down the moves, telling me how fake everything is, how choreographed all the moves are. Bruce Lee movies keep telling me how much the dude was holding back."

"Nothing for little kids," Vista added. "They always talk down to the audience."

None of commented on that.

"We could always go old school," Assault said as he put away his keys. "Star Wars?"

"Yes!" I raised my hands in the air. The others stared at me. I coughed, lowering my arms. "I uh, that would be nice, yeah."

"Dude," Clockblocker said. "You're a nerd?"

"Enormoursly so." I admitted easily. "I had a big party to celebrate my thousandth watch of the original trilogy."

"Original?" Vista asked, cocking her head to the side. She probably would have kicked me if she knew how adorable I thought she looked when she was confused. "There's more?"

"On Earth-Aleph I think," Assault answered. He gave me an odd look. "I think Micheal Bay made them. Never seen 'em though."

"Michael Bay?" I thought about that. On the one hand, the prequels were already bad. On the other hand, Michael Bay. "Yeah, lets just watch the original set."

-

Later that night, after watching the Star Wars movies together, I headed to my room. I meditated for a while, checking the clock every once in a while. Then, once I felt the time was right, I put on some jeans, my combat boots, and a shirt.

At around midnight, I left the building at super-speed. More than a few papers flew in the wake of my flight, but soon my boots were hitting pavement, and I was running into the city. I stuck to the shadows, keeping off main streets, and made sure to keep an eye out.

While watching the movie with the others, an idea had hit me. I needed to start making plans, to start making moves. But to do that, I needed certain people. Problem was, I had no idea how to contact many of them. But I did know something.

Bitch, AKA Rachel, kept several shelters for dogs around the city. And I had a nose about as strong as a dog's.

Probably an idea that would get me in trouble. The PRT had made it clear they didn't trust me, and this little run would make them angry. But, in the end, the PRT and Protectorate weren't necessary. I liked the people there, and their resources were useful. But if I had to, I could go anywhere in the world and survive. I could hunt wildlife with my bare hands, work out using boulders, and meditate. If I need entertainment or research, super-speed meant I could rush into any town and do my thing with ease.

So, if they decide this little run was worth arresting me, which I doubted they would, then I fully believed I'd be just fine. With that in mind, the journey was worth taking.

Though my new allies' faces flashed into my mind for a moment.

In the meantime, I took deep whiffs of the air. The second I smelled dog, I went after it.

The first place I found was a just stray mutt digging through trash in a back alley. She was a tiny thing, a puppy really. I was getting ready to leave her. Then she looked up at me, startled at my appearance. Our eyes met.

She had brown fur, matted down with mud and muck. Her ears were floppy, and her paws were too big for her still growing body. She barked, an almost pathetic sound. Then she sneezed so hard she fell over, eyes widening in surprise.

"Damnit." I said with a sigh.

Minutes later the puppy was in my arms as I ran at a gentle pace, tongue lolling out happily as the wind rushed past her face.

The next place I found was a legitimate animal shelter. I thought about leaving the puppy there, then I conveniently forgot to do so after she affectionately licked my face.

After that was just a house in the suburbs where the owner had two dogs, both of which were outside. The puppy got some of the food that the owner had left in a bowl outside. I petted her as she ate, and she wagged her tail.

If you aren't getting this, I'm a sucker for dogs.

I ran around for the next hour or so, tracking down every dog scent in the city. While I was at it, I had to stop a few crimes. I didn't have any official way to deal with crime, considering I wasn't supposed to be out anyways, so I tried to be efficient.

Some guy was stealing a car. I knocked him out, took his wallet, and dropped him off on a main street, deciding that was punishment enough.

Three guys had jumped a couple in an alley, and were saying something about what they were planning to do to the woman. I broke their arms and legs and took their driver's licenses, making a note to track them down later and discuss their treatment of woman. The couple ran off, promising to call the police. The puppy growled as we waited, playfully biting my hand, and I left once I heard police sirens coming closer.

A young woman was breaking into a house. I knocked her out and, same as the car thief, left her in a public place, this time sitting in front of a busy 24/7 coffee shop.

One more guy had stabbed a man in the chest after his victim refused to give up his wallet. I broke the arms and legs of the thug, called the police on the thief's cell phone, then carried the victim to a local hospital. My entrance into the hospital, carrying a bleeding man and a barking puppy, caused a bit of a stir, but I left in a hurry.

It took a while before I found what I was looking for, having to slow down to make sure I didn't drop the puppy or hurt it with my speed.

I didn't even know it at first. I reached a spot where I smelled a bunch of dogs had been, but only found an empty lot. It was a large plot of land, covered in weeds and dirt, with lots of old wrappers littered throughout and surrounded by fence all around. I used to play in places like it as a kid, pretending to be a soldier at war.

I circled the place for a bit, confused. I took a deep whiff of the air. Comically, so did the puppy in my arms.

Dirt, freshly churned from the smell of it. Grass, dead and otherwise. Water rushing through a metal pipe. And dogs. But nothing else.

With one sense down, I moved forward, slowly going around the lot.

 _Okay. Think like a villain._ I stopped and shook my head. _No, that wouldn't work. Bitch is an animal first. She doesn't think in human terms. So I have to think in dog terms._

I looked down at the puppy. "Any ideas?" She looked up at me, confused. "That's what I thought."

 _Dogs. If a dog want to hide something…_ I remember the smell of dirt. The freshly churned dirt. ... _They bury it._

I went over the spot in question. The difference was subtle, but I could see the line in the dirt. I reached down in the dirt, the soil pulverized by my steel-hard skin, and hit metal. With the stars providing light, I dug. The puppy helped as best as it could. It took a bit to uncover the door.

It was big enough for one person, made of what looked like the side of a boat. There were a few scratch marks on it, probably from one of Bitch's dogs. I reached down, then stopped. I took a deep whiff. No strong smell of plastic or any weird chemicals. Just in case, I picked up the puppy, took her to the other side of the lot, then used my super-speed to run back to the door and open it.

No explosion.

I picked up the puppy as she ran over to me, then slowly made my way into the darkness.

-

The puppy was still eating when they arrived. There was dog food of course. High-grade no less. I was sitting on the floor, meditating again. The whole place was built like a bomb shelter. Considering who Rachel's sponsor was, that made sense. The dogs were all in cages, big ones with lots of room, and there was a place in the back for them to play around in, as well as a bunch of squeaky toys.

They'd panicked when I first came in. I didn't respond to them, my experience with other dogs telling me that there was nothing I could do short of killing them to get them to stop barking. I choose to wait them out. Eventually, as I meditated, they quieted down.

The puppy must have been have starved when I found her, because she was enjoying the dry dog food with gusto, ignoring the lizard squeaky toy I'd given her. She was still dirty, smelled nasty, but she was also adorable, happy, and on her way to full.

As I meditated on the concrete floor, I tried to extend my senses. It wasn't working. For some reason, I simply couldn't break whatever barrier Vegeta had when he learned how to sense ki energy. I kept at it though. At the same time, I tried to control the ki flow through my body, see if I could learn to form it faster, use it to strengthen my body.

That is what I was doing when the lights went out. It was creepy. The dogs began to whine. But the sound was muted. The back of my hands had been resting on my knees, the sensation of jeans beneath my skin was suddenly fading.

My eyes remained closed. I didn't respond, and I focused on my ki. Maybe I was approaching it from the wrong direction? I'd been thinking of ki from the same perspective as blood flowing through veins, but maybe it was more like miniature cells through my body, like my skin cells?

"Who are you?"

I opened my eyes. As I did, the darkness began to disappear. It all flowed back in the form of smoke. It was unnerving, watching living shadows flow into the body of a black suited figure. He stood with three others, but he was clearly in charge. Body-read had found it hard to understand the physical movement of the dogs, but I could read three of the group very well.

The young man was wearing what looked like a motorcycle outfit, all black leather. His head was covered in a helmet, wreathed in the darkness and painted with a stylized skull. He was pretty big, and I could tell he was a practitioner. He was calm but wary. Ready for anything.

Next to him was another guy, younger than him, though that may have been his far smaller size. He looked like a renaissance faire reject, with a silver coronet, a ruffled white shirt, and skintight leggings tucked into knee-high boots. His face was hidden in a white mask that had an unnerving smile on the surface. He was standing in a relaxed fashion, and body-read couldn't find anything very strong from him.

The third person, a girl, wore a skintight uniform colored black-and-lavender, with the image of an Egyptian eye on her chest. She had long dark blonde hair that hung loosely down her back and a mask. She was also clearly on her way to womanhood, with the sort of figure you often see in magazines. She was eyeing me, looking me over in quick movements, body language inquisitive. As soon as I figured that out, her body language turned bored.

Apparently she'd noticed me reading her, and immediately changed her stance to compensate. Still, it wasn't enough to hide the deeper parts of her body language, and that seemed to irritate her.

The final person was also a girl, well, a woman really by the scent of her. She was wearing the most normal clothes of the group, just a leather jacket, jeans, and boots, with a cheap looking mask of a black dog on her face. She was muscular, by far the biggest member of the group, and had short cut red hair. Her body language was hostile. She was looking for an excuse to kill me. She was hard to read though. She had more in common with the dogs around us than she did the humans and Saiyan in the room.

"I said, who are you?" The leader said again, his voice deep and echoing. I didn't reply. Instead I turned slightly and patted my hip.

The puppy looked up from her bowl, then ran towards me in the clumsy way puppies do. I caught the smelly, happy creature as she came to me, and gathered her in my lap. Then I looked up at the group. One by one, I started naming them.

"Grue. Regent. Tattletale. Bitch." I raised my hand in a wave. "Sup."

"…Seriously?" The renaissance reject had a voice as feminine as his build. Regent cocked his head to the side. "Why don't we just kill this guy and get it over with?"

"Because I'm not here to hurt, intimidate, blackmail, or kill you. I broke in here because I figured there were alarms, and that you would come calling." I looked down at the puppy. "The little one here wasn't planned though."

She barked in reply, lolling her tongue out in a doggy grin, apparently realizing I was talking about her.

"So why are you here?" Grue asked.

"To negotiate." Tattletale's voice was smug. Guess she'd read something in the way I'd done things. I wasn't annoyed. I'd planned on it. "You need us for something."

"Yep." I looked them over, then focused on Bitch. She was vibrating with anger. The dogs around us had gone still.

I rose to my feet, holding the puppy in my arms. I ignored the way Regent and Grue shifted. Tattletale and Bitch didn't move. I held out the puppy.

The small animal looked at Bitch, then yawned. I focused my body language, trying to mimic the way I saw animals offer food to others. "She was starving. Named her Laika. Can you help her?"

Bitch stared at me. Then, she took the puppy.

The instant the puppy was safe in her arms, two dogs in the cages exploded forwards, growing into monstrosities and attacking me.

All according to plan.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: This chapter made me want to scream. I have no idea how many mistakes I made in this, lorewise, dialogue wise, or even just insanity wise because I'm losing my mind in the fucking Moroccan countryside.**

 **EDIT: Now unfucked from formatting.**

I also had a lot of fun writing this. I hope you guys enjoy it, and please let me know what you liked/didn't like. I'd also like to note, I did not have a Beta for this. So all the mistakes are mine, and not those of others.

It was all going to plan. As I watched Star Wars earlier, I'd broken down what I knew about the Undersiders. Bitch would be the easiest to find. She loved dogs, and was well known to have shelters hidden throughout the city dedicated to them. And she'd want to put an alarm inside them, in case someone stumbled inside or tried to kill them to get to her. So if I broke into the shelter and waited, chances were good I'd meet the Undersiders.

The problem was, I'd be intruding on her territory. From the perspective of a dog, that is grounds for murder. Only the stronger animals can get away with that sort of action. Anything weaker, and battle begins.

By breaking into her marked territory, I'd challenged her. Now, she had to step up to the plate. A single whistle, and the dogs she's brought attacked. The two dogs she sent at me were a bulldog and a poodle. On later thought, I'd realize they probably hadn't come from the cages, but simply attacked my blind spots.

The bulldog had been adorable, all pudge and folded skin, with a big doggy grin. He had now grown to the size of a sedan, with his doggy grin replaced with jaws big enough to engulf me, and spikes popping out of his form. He looked like the unholy genetic offspring of a dog, dinosaur, and demonic monster. His massive form tackled into me, smashing me into a back wall, and made a noise to **massive** to be a roar in my face, hot spittle splashing on my skin.

The poodle was not the groomed versions you see at shows, with crazy haircuts, but a more naturally furred one. It had the thin, lithe figure poodles are famous for. That figure had grown into something more like a giant wolf made out of bony armor now, and a long jaw full of crocodilian teeth slashed outwards to bite into my right arm, tearing my jacket to pieces. Pain throbbed from teeth digging into my skin as both dogs howled, the sound stretching to an unnatural level.

Saliva dripped from the bulldog's mouth as he held me against the wall, some of the liquid spattering against my shirt, and hot air blew back my hair as the massive dog growled. The poodle was trying to use my arm as a chew toy, wearing at my skin as she growled and snarled.

With both dogs holding me down, I craned my neck to gaze at the four people in front of me. More specifically, at Bitch. She stared back at me through her mask's eye holes. I ignored the dogs pressing me against the wall and biting at me. I ignored her friends just starting to speak. She was the one I was curious about. For some reason, even though I'd come for something else, Bitch, Rachel, had become important.

I suppose it's because she had more in common with me that any other human I'd met. We were both closer to animals than anyone else I'd met. I'd felt it with Glory Girl, felt it more strongly with Assault, and very slightly around Miss Militia. There was a part of us that was somehow more animalistic than others. Something that understood the law of survival, even if we hid it away, refused to admit it. All of us, for one reason or another, would have survived just as well a thousand years ago as we did in this new world.

Granted, I cheated. Saiyan DNA and instincts gave me that ability. Not sure how I would compare without them. But the point was, we all that primal instinct. Glory Girl was a fighter, born for the _glory_ of combat. Miss Militia had been exposed to war at a young age, and had been a Ward for years before joining the Protectorate, getting exposed to the worst of humanity and gaining an intimate understanding of the wild rules of nature in the process. And Assault had been on both sides of the law, and had seen the best and worst of both. They had that instinct for the wild. Fought it sometimes, but it was there. Only now did I realize it.

However, compared to Glory Girl and Miss Militia, Bitch and I were on a completely different level of primality.

We weren't truly human in our thinking anymore. I had an understanding of human thinking Bitch didn't, thanks to my years of experience, but I was willing to bet my Saiyan DNA was responsible for the new sense of understanding I had of Rachel Lindt.

Bitch was trying to establish dominance now. Simple concept hiding a lot of complexity as it turns out. I'd walked into her territory, now I had to show her I was strong enough that my affront was more than just being foolish.

She stared at me, challenge in her eyes. In a sense, she thought she'd won. I'd allowed myself to be pinned, and proven my weakness.

I responded to that by pushing away from the wall.

The dogs barked in surprise at the sudden resistance, and redoubled their efforts. I gritted my teeth at the force being pressed against me, more than anything inflicted on my body short of Glory Girl's punches, but pushed forward.

The poodle pulled at my arm, trying to tug me off balance, and I adjusted quickly, though I didn't activate super-speed. For some reason, I felt I had to do this at normal speed. In every other fight, my super-speed had been my ultimate counter. But, here and now, my instincts were screaming that overwhelming strength was what I needed. I couldn't just defeat Bitch quickly. I had to prove that, from the start, her efforts were useless.

She was dangerous, sure. But I was a **fucking** _**Saiyan.**_

I took a step forward. The bulldog made a sound that could have been a bark, if a bark could be done by a creature from hell, and opened to those massive jaws to engulf me as its claws slashed at my shirt and paws pushed back at me. I grabbed his upper jaw in my right hand and his lower jaw in my left. Hot saliva poured onto my hands, and his fleshy lips were tough to grab onto, like gripping a wet python. Still, I kept his jaws from biting down. I didn't do anything else, just slowly pushing forward as I held him back. He snarled, the spikes on his belly slashing at the skin on my legs as I moved forward. The poodle released my arm to grab my right thigh, chewing with vicious force on the meat, half-growling, half screaming as its massive and demonic body pulled at me.

"Oh shit." Regent said as I kept pushing forward, eyes tracing the unharmed skin where the dogs were clawing and biting me. He raised an arm, and I realized he was going to use his powers.

"Please don't." I growled, my teeth pressed together as I moved forward. I don't know why he stopped, but he did. "I don't want to hurt them. If you make me lose control, they might get hurt." A sudden twitch of my arm might break their teeth or smash their bones. That would be a dick move.

"Seriously!?" Regent seemed to think I was crazy, and Grue and Tattletale were silently watching as I moved forward. "You're worried about the dogs that are _chewing on you!?_ " He sounded like the concept was amusing him massively.

I probably was crazy. The poodle's teeth were grinding against my thigh, razor sharp teeth clashing with my skin, pain shooting from the points of impact as she pulled at me. The bulldog jaws were pressing down with constant force against my palms. He wasn't as strong as me, but even a two pound weight starts to burn when you've been holding it outstretched for a while, and the bulldog was biting me with a hell of a lot more than two pounds of force. It was, by far, the most amount of constant force brought to bear against my body. Not a simple attack, but an attempt to slowly grind me down.

Step by step, with the bulldog and poodle pushing and pulling at me, one pair of jaws moving from my thigh to my calf in an effort to force me to the floor, another pair clenching tightly as wet, warm air splashed against my face.

The bulldog's claws dug into the concrete beneath us, long furrows being created as I forced him back, his legs moving furiously as he desperately tried to bite me and I desperately tried to keep him moving. His muscles, horrific thanks to the power that had strengthened him, seemed to seethe beneath his skin, even as my own muscles continued to tense under my own skin. Spikes waved in the air, slapping against me and tearing my jeans and shirt in long slashes.

The poodle moved from biting my calf to simply leaping onto my back, claws tearing apart my jacket as teeth dug into my neck. She pulled, tugged, massive body wiggling like, well, like a dog playing with a toy.

I stared Bitch in the eyes. She was still holding the puppy. I couldn't read her body language. There was something primal there, something that understood what I was doing, why I was doing it. I tried to scream it through my movements even as I stepped forward.

That I was the dominant predator in the room. That she had no _right_ to challenge my authority. She was strong, her dogs were strong. And I wanted her to understand that I acknowledged that strength.

But damned if I was going to bow to it.

With a heave, a cry of exertion leaving my lips, I shoved the bulldog up, forcing him to stand on his back legs. He whined in surprise, the sound demonic. I pushed again, forcing him to roll like a soccer ball towards Rachel. As the bulldog shook his head, eyes wide with shock, I reached for the poodle.

Her muzzle was wrapped around my neck, jaw opening and closing on my skin. I grabbed her snout as gently as I could, pulling her off my neck and stopping the pain of her teeth on my skin. As she yelped, I pushed her away, continuing to step forward as she staggered back.

Darkness began to flow outwards from Grue, and he stepped forward. Regent's hand snapped up, and my leg spasmed. I ignored it as best as I could, focused on the tall, muscular redhead still holding the puppy I'd saved.

My world went dark as Grue's power surrounded me. But while he could block sight and sound, scent was still there. I'd been with the puppy all night. I knew her scent well. And Rachel smelled distinctive. No perfume. Just the smog of the city, the dogs around us, and something distinctly her. I moved towards her unwavering scent, and stopped in front of her. My arm spasmed, and I involuntarily punched for my own face. I caught it in my other hand. I didn't do anything else. My instincts had gotten me to that point. And they told me I was done. All I had to do now, was

"Stop."

Her voice was still muffled, but apparently Grue heard her perfectly. When his voice came, it was from behind me. Apparently he'd been planning on sucker-punching me somehow. "Bitch, he's—"

"Stop."

The darkness held for a moment. Then, with the same eerie fluidity it had appeared, the shadows faded.

As soon as the light reappeared, Bitch was the first thing I saw. Her eyes were intense as they met mine. After a moment, she cradled the puppy in one arm and removed her mask with the other. She had thick eyebrows, and a squarish face with blunt features. Her face was furrowed in a combination of confusion and consideration.

"What do you want?"

"You."

She blinked, and Regent choked down laughter for some reason.

I looked around the room. "I need to speak with you. Ask you to help." I looked at Tattletale, who'd been watching everything go down like a hawk. Her body language was still masked, but it was enough to tell she was annoyed at the lack of information the situation was presenting her, as well as confused. "You want something Sarah." She stepped back, shocked. "I'm offering it to you."

"Wha—" She went from shocked to pissed off real quick. "How do you know that name?"

"I can't tell you." I answered honestly. "Your powers are strong, but I'm betting they aren't going to work on figuring out me. Not enough facts to work on for the truth to come out."

Thank god Worm fanfics were so obsessed with Tattletale, or I wouldn't have known that. Evidence that doesn't exist is the best way to counter both Tattletale and Sherlock Holmes.

"How—" She stopped, eyes closing behind her mask. "I… I don't know." She snapped her eyes open to glare at me. "He's right. I can't figure it out."

Admitting that must have taken a lot. She looked annoyed, pissed off. Grue and Regent gave her looks of surprise as she glared at me, though Regent also seemed amused by her annoyance.

"Bitch." I looked back at Rachel. I needed to project strength. The Undersiders, in many universes, would one day become some of the most powerful people in Brockton. I couldn't seem weak, not in body, mind, or will. "I know you guys are good kids, or trying to be, whatever the world is painting you as. I'm here because of that. I want you to listen to something. I won't talk a lot. Keep it short."

I looked back at Tattletale. She was looking at me, still breaking down I worked.

"The way you move. Your powers are strength, speed, and invulnerability." She eyes moved to show her smile, apparently happy her powers were working again. God would she be annoyed by ki blasts. "You're that new cape. The one who fought Stormtiger with Glory Girl." Then she was back to annoyed. "You know about us. Our powers, our histories." Grue and Regent snapped their heads to stare at me. "How do you—" She winced, but seemed to get herself under control this time. "And, from the way you're reacting to things… You're not human. Or at least, you don't act the way a human being should. You don't react to pain, or stress, the way others would. And from the way you're acting, you don't think you're human anymore either."

She shook her head. "I don't get it. How can you not be human? What are you?"

How else could I answer? "Something similar. That's all I can say."

"…Seriously?" Regent looked around the room. "Does anyone else feel like the shit has hit the fan?"

"Not yet, but there's a nasty ass smell flying through the air right now." I cracked my neck. "Is there somewhere we can talk? I have a lot to discuss with you guys."

"Tattletale?" Grue seemed lost. He clenched his fist, then looked at the unmarked skin beneath my shirt. He unclenched his fist.

"…He's not going to hurt us." She said at last, still sounding confused. And annoyed. She did _not_ like being left out of the loop. "But we're not taking you to our home. You came here because you don't know where our headquarters are, but knew enough about Bitch to track down her shelters." She seemed to take pleasure in my surprise. "Heh. Still got it."

Bitch was still looking at me as I watched Tattletale. The bulldog and poodle began to shrink, turning into normal animals again and stepping forward hesitantly as they did. "You aren't human?"

"No." I shrugged, though having confirmation from Tattletale really bothered me.

"Hmm." Her body language was still almost unreadable, but she gave me a long look up and down. With the way her body language worked, I couldn't figure out why she seemed so interested in my appearance. Maybe she was trying to see how I wasn't like others. I looked down at the puppy. The tiny animal had fallen asleep in Rachel's arms, apparently bored by all the commotion.

"Okay, I'll talk to you guys here then." I sat on the floor.

"Why are we listening to this guy again?" Regent asked. He was clutching his scepter in his right hand. At a guess, ready to utilize its taser when necessary.

"Because there are a lot of things that are going to step up to kill you. And I want to help you out." I sighed. "Like I said, you guys got a crap lot in life, and things won't get easier. I can't be a hero if I don't try to help you. If you guys don't want to work with me after I say my piece, then I'll just leave you to fend for yourselves."

"I thought you said this would be short." Bitch groused. "Not a lot of talking."

Anger flowed through me for no reason, and I snapped my eyes to her, growling slightly. The bulldog and poodle at her feet whined, and she clamped her mouth shut.

"I'm saying what I have to." I looked back at the group. "Your employer—"

Tattletale made a small motion. Barely perceptible really. Unless you could read body language. I flickered my eyes to her, continuing to speak, but completely changing where I'd been going with the sentence. The motion she'd made was indicative of someone trying to listen to something, look closer at something. She was apparently figuring out what I was able to respond to as I watched them, and using that to send a message to me. At a guess, Bitch's shelter had eyes on it, Coil's without a doubt.

Should have thought of that. Dumb mistake.

"—will want to hear this later, but I'm asking you to keep it secret." I rose up. Tattletale walked over to join me. "I'm hungry though. Let's get a burger."

Regent moved like he was going to speak, but Grue cut him off. It was subtle, but I could tell he had some idea what was happening. Regent cocked his head, but seemed to get it as well

"Yeah, I guess I could go for a bite." Regent said. He looked me up and down, then chuckled. "And maybe get you a shirt. Then again, maybe you're into the whole public nudity thing, I ain't judging."

I looked down at my clothes, now slashed apart by teeth, spines, and claws. "You know, as running gags go, this one sucks."

As we exited, I turned to Bitch. She was still carrying the puppy, and the bulldog and poodle had followed us out. I'd noticed she looked annoyed at yet another delay for our conversation, not really understanding why we were moving. "Someone might have cameras and shit in your shelter, so we're leaving somewhere else to talk."

She nodded firmly, understanding. And also getting angrier. No one likes discovering someone could be spying on them.

We went over to four story brick building nearby. I leaped up to the top while Bitch had the poodle and bulldog carry everyone else up. The roof was typical of cities, just a gravel covered affair with spots of birdshit here and there.

"Have to be honest, this is my first time doing the rooftop negotiation thing." I said as the enlarged dogs landed behind me. "Kind of a superhuman staple."

"Glad to know your dreams are coming true." Regent said snidely. He walked over to that protrusion roofs have for stairs, don't know what you call it, and leaned back against the brick wall.

"Nightmare actually." Tattletale snarked as she took a seat on the edge of the short wall surrounding the top of the building. "You're here after all."

Regent chuckled, not seeming to mind the dig. "Fuck you, Tats."

Grue stood in the center, arms at his side, balance ready to move. His body language was wary, and a little worried. "Well? What's your proposal?"

Bitch took a spot in a corner of the roof with the puppy, the bulldog and poodle obediently following. Interestingly, she made sure she had a clear line of sight to me at all times, and her eyes flickered at me continuously even as she began to speak to the puppy in soft tones.

"Well, to start off." I crossed my arms trying to figure out how to word what I wanted to say. "My name is Gohan Moha."

"No it isn't." Tattletale said, a bit of smugness returning. "And you knew I'd know you were lying."

"I did, but it's the name I'm using these days." I sighed. "I… needed a new identity. To separate who I was, with who I am."

Regent straightened a bit. Tattletale nodded slightly.

"Okay. So here's what I want." Best to keep it simple. Honest.

"I want to work together. I protect you guys if things ever hit the fan, like a rival villain tries to rip you in half, and help you in a dozen little ways with the info I know." I pointed at Tattletale. "Give you the info you never knew you wanted." Grue. "Help you protect the girl you always worry about." As his body language tightened, I pointed at Regent. "Help you stay free from the man you hate most." Regent's hand tightened on his scepter as I pointed at Bitch next. "Protect you and yours."

"How do you know about—" Grue began.

"I can't tell you, because it would reveal more than you guys are ready for."

"You really believe that?" Tattletale winced, rubbing the side of her head. "Seriously, what the hell is going on?"

"What if you're lying?" Regent asked. "And hell, what do you want us to do for you, in exchange for all the fucking things you'll apparently do for us."

"Good question." Grue looked at Regent. "For once."

"Fuck off." Regent said simply. "Seriously, no one promises this much for no reason. He wants something. I'm not going to be the one blowing him by the way, just in case he asks."

Grue seemed annoyed at the crude humor, but agreed with the sentiment apparently. He looked me up and down. "You've been promising a lot. Acting like you know us, throwing around little details. So why are you here?"

Off in the distance, a police siren rang. We all turned to look at it. Me, because I was wondering if I should help. Them, because they were bad guys, and that was the sound of the badge. As the noise petered out, I turned back to the teens.

"I told you. You guys have had shitty lives. If I know about something shitty going on, and I don't try to help, then I'm responsible for it. I can't do that and call myself a hero." I said as sincerely as possible. "And what I want from you guys is to act as my men on the inside. To keep me informed, and work with me on certain things, to help me keep things from getting too bad."

"No, that's not all." Tattletale cocked her hip and rested a hand on it. "You were fighting for the PRT, but they haven't announced you yet." I leaned back, curious to see how much she'd figured out. She chuckled, apparently understanding I was willing to hear her out, and more than willing to prove her Holmesian kung fu was strong. "Okay. You showed up out of nowhere, beat up Stormtiger with Glory Girl. But there was no announcement about a new Protectorate member so… it was unplanned. You just started working with the PRT."

She looked over at Bitch. "You know about us, enough to figure out how to track down Bitch, but you don't actually know our addresses. So… you know a lot of small details, but not everything. You came out in the middle of the night, in civilian clothes. The PRT doesn't know you're out here. You could be undercover, but I doubt it. The PRT isn't that subtle."

Everyone was watching her as she broke things down. All but Bitch, who had gotten bored and started playing with the puppy. I looked over at the pair as the bulldog and poodle watched over them. The small baby animal sat at a command, and Bitch nodded firmly before flicking her eyes up to meet mine again. I turned back to Tattletale

"If they don't know you're here, they also don't know how much you know, and you snuck out, which means you don't want them to know. So the big question, why are you here? You said you want men on the inside, but I'm thinking there's more."

She eyed me up and down. "You don't need Bitch's dogs, you have enough strength to handle muscle jobs yourself. Grue and Regent are useful—"

"Thanks." The pair looked at each other in disgust when they realized they'd spoken in unison.

"But they aren't enough to warrant the risk you took. If the PRT finds out you visited supervillains in your first week, they'll never trust you." She sounded smug. "You need someone who can work with small bits of info you have, without depending on the PRT or letting them know about it. You want my powers to help you." She shrugged. "And all that drivel about helping us out of shitty situations I guess."

"Drivel?" I asked her. She was about to say something, but I shrugged. "Look, I know some people don't see helping people as worth a damn, but I'm just idealistic enough to think beyond that."

I looked around. Grue was still staring at me. Regent was considering the situation. And Bitch had taught the puppy how to attack a small rag.

"Anyways, that's what I want. I know some things, but not all that I need. Your entire shtick is figuring things out from small pieces of data. Working together, we can figure out a bunch of little details. Help each other thrive. As a plus, I'll help the rest of you through any problems that pop up. I won't try to make you join the PRT," Regent and Grue relaxed slightly. "And I won't help you with crimes. But anything else, you get me hitting things or giving info that can help out."

I smirked. "And finally, your boss is a dick, and I want to punch him. In the dick, if possible. Or just below the balls."

"It's called a taint." Regent said.

I grinned at that, then spread my arms. "How about this? I'll tell you guy's one piece of info each about something that can help you. Something worth hearing. Not world changing, but enough that you can start planning."

They shared a look. Bitch gazed up at me, then back down at the puppy, who was now waddling towards the bulldog while growling playfully.

"Okay, I'm down." Regent stepped forward, sounding nonchalant. "So. What you got for me? Do I get to have sex with celebrities one day? Become a millionaire? President? Because otherwise—"

"Cherie is either in, or going to be a part of, the Slaughterhouse Nine. And one day she'll come to have a discussion with you."

He blinked. "Huh. That's… Actually…" He blinked a few more times. "So… The Nine are going to come after me?" He cocked his head to the side. "Kinda flattering. In a 'shitting my pants' kinda way."

"Who's Cherie?" Grue asked curiously.

Tattletale looked like she was going to say something. I got ready to knock her out if she was going to say a smart-ass remark, because no matter how much of a dick Regent was, **no one** deserved to have the secrets he kept outed. She kept quiet.

"If it helps." I told Regent. "She has to go through their tests before she joins or joined. And when they put someone to the test…"

Regent brightened, back straightening. He was almost whistling as he stepped back, the thought of what his sister was going through making him positively giddy.

"Grue?" He looked from the cheery Regent to me, then stepped forward.

"Okay. What is it?"

I waited until the dark hero was braced. "She'll get stranger type powers." I ignored the hiss he released, knowing he needed to hear this. "And she'll be brilliant, if annoying. She's strong, man. Just like you."

I hesitated for a moment before I said the next part. "And just so you know, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make sure she's safe. Like I said, I'll help you punch things or give you as much info as needed to help. Though, if you don't want my assistance, I'll understand."

"I—" The darkness around his helmet seemed to boil, like smoke pouring from a black chimney. "What makes her trigger? Does someone hurt her, does she—?"

"Nothing tragic, I can promise that. She comes out completely fine." I answered. "These aren't events set in stone, just things that either are, or could be. Just know she has the potential, and be ready to support her the way you always do."

His body language was all over the place. Then he took a deep breath. I raised an eyebrow as I watched his emotions suddenly calm and flow away. Interesting. A meditative technique, like the ones I'd learned in Tai Chi.

"…If you're telling the truth." He said calmly.

"Oh I could be totally talking out of my ass." I chuckled, finding the idea funny. "I could have illusion powers, or be lying with some unknown superpower."

"Let's say you're not." Tattletale cocked her head as Grue and I looked over at her. "But you said these things you're telling us aren't set in stone? Does that include Coil?" She spoke before I could answer. "No, that's already happening. Wait, do you come from the future?" She brightened. "That's it, right!? You know so much because you heard about it from other people, like from a textbook! You got your information secondhand, not direct from the source!"

Huh. Considering most of my info came from spoilers given by fanfics rather than the actual novel, that was actually pretty close to the tru—

"What, I'm wrong?" Tattletale seemed crestfallen, having apparently figured out my train of thought. "Oh come on!" I smirked, which only made her more annoyed.

"How about me?"

We looked over at Bitch. She didn't say anything else, didn't even look away from the puppy, who was trying to tackle the much larger and very amused bulldog.

"Bitch." She looked up at me. "You're perfectly fine as is. Never change, okay?" The look on her uncovered face surprised me. For some reason she looked as surprised as Grue and Regent had. Her mouth dropped open for a second.

I'd honestly been speaking from my heart. I'd do my best to help her, but she didn't have any big problems ahead in her life, none specific to her in any meaningful way. Though that was my opinion. It was one of the reasons I liked her. She took care of her dogs, her friends, and one day the world. No complex thoughts on good and evil, no worries about the philosophical implications of superpowers. Just a girl doing right by the ones she cared for.

When I looked over at Tattletale, she was almost bouncing on her heels. Which was interesting, because I could tell she was as annoyed with me as she was excited. "You don't like me, do you?"

"No." The word was said with an odd amount of cheer. I took a moment to guess why.

"If it helps, I'm cheating. You're smarter than me. It's just that I read ahead in the class." Later I'd realize I'd come dangerously close to the truth. For now, I continued. "So. Your boss. He can split timelines, he uses it to make things work out for himself, and his full name is Thomas Calvert." I stopped. "Huh. I guess that's three pieces of information."

Tattletale seemed gobsmacked. She was almost vibrating, eyes staring at a point above my head. "Oh. My. God!"

She looked over at the others. "It all makes sense! Coil! He can split timelines! And he must share information between them! So in one timeline he'll tell us to do a job, and in another he tells us to cancel, and if the job goes wrong he just shuts down the bad timeline!"

"Wait, is that why we keep getting sent out for no reason?" Regent sounded annoyed. "Man, what a bunch of bullshit."

Grue had other priorities. "Coil?" There was a combination of confusion and anger in his voice. He was annoyed for some reason.

"But it makes sense!" Tattletale looked back at me, still happy to have connected the dots. Right up until she saw the sadness on my face. "What's wrong? Why are you… Oh." She stared at me. "Oh god." I looked over at the others pointedly. "Oh god no."

Despite the horror in her voice, I knew she had to hear the truth. "Yeah. He doesn't just split timelines for business. He also does it to have _fun_." I shook my head. "Remember, he keeps memories between timelines, and he can use them as a reset button on life. Torture, murder, rape. He uses his powers to indulge on them, and chances are if you work for him, and he knows more about you than he should…"

Tattletale had run over to the edge of the building, throwing up over the side. Regent looked at her, then at me.

"Are you saying that he's done it to us all?" There was something in his voice. A dark feel, devoid of emotion while somehow chock-full of negativity.

"No, just that he can. He does it all the time. Sometimes he tortures people for information in one timeline, while simply speaking to them in another. And sometimes, when stress is getting to him? He calls someone into his office, and reaches for the taser in his drawer."

Grue shuddered. "And that's who we were working for?"

"Not anymore." Bitch growled.

"You have to." I said sadly.

"Like hell." Regent got up to his feet, twirling his scepter a little. Despite the emotionless I'd heard about, he seemed agitated. I suppose even a psychopath has their triggers. "Listen, if you're not bullshitting us, great. But like hell are we working for some lunatic who'll kill us for kicks. So thanks, and fuck you." The last was said with a jaunty wave, as though he expected me to leave afterwards.

"If you don't, he'll get curious. He'll blackmail you. He'll kill all of you. Or maybe he'll grab something important to you, make you work for him that way. If you want to cut ties, you need to do it permanently. Play it smart."

"He's right." Tattletale coughed as she came back from where she'd been throwing up, putting her mask back on. "We need to kill him first."

"We need to—" Regent thought about that. "Yeah, I'm all right with that actually."

"Me too." Bitch growled. The puppy growled as well, undercutting the seriousness of the moment as the tiny animals growl was very cute rather than scary like Bitch's.

"I'm not." Grue crossed his arms as everyone looked at him. "I don't want to deal with this. I say we just cut ties."

"It's necessary." I said.

"Why? We don't even have proof what you're saying is true. You won't even tell us why you know so much."

Everyone looked back at me. Huh. That was a fair point.

"Look, if I wanted to kill you, I could have. I wouldn't need to go this whole convoluted route. It wouldn't be hard."

"Real confident aren'—" Whatever Regent was about to say was cut-off by me appearing in front of him at super-speed. I looked down at him neutrally, a fingertip pressed gently against his throat.

I always wanted to do the whole 'disappear-and-reappear-at-killing-distance' trick.

The others tensed. Regent stared at me, then gulped, his adams apple sliding to gently push against the tip of my finger. His other hand had been ready to stab me with the scepter. Slowly, I removed the fingertip from his throat, then pressed it on the brick wall he'd been leaning against. My finger sank into the stone as I pressed it in, dust falling from the hole.

"Like I said. Easy."

Hopefully that made things plain. Regent could control my body, but only until I was moving at super-speed and killing him before he could twitch. And even if he did control me, he couldn't control my ki. I made a note to accelerate my training in that respect, just in case.

I looked back at Grue. "And I don't want to manipulate you, or threaten you. I can't tell you how I know what I know, but I want to work with you guys. I'm just a guy reaching out to say I think you guys are all right, and that we can do good work together, because I'm not a prick."

"Debatable." Tattletale grumbled in annoyance.

"But Coil has to go." I tried to hide my surprise at how easily the thought came to me. "If he doesn't, he'll use you to aid in the abduction of a young girl, a cute little girl who gets thinker powers. She'll be taken to his lair. Then she will be tortured, fed drugs, and turned into a slave."

Grue hissed at that, an angry, burning sound. "What?"

"I told you. He's ruthless, and he's a psychopath."

"But what's his endgame?" Regent asked.

I waved at the area around us.

"The city." Tattletale shook her head, somehow unsurprised. "He wants Brockton Bay."

"Yep." I sighed. "Look, just think about it. I'll make a PHO account soon. When you decide if I'm worth listening to, working with, let me know."

"What do you want us to do?" Grue asked. "I thought you just need Tattletale."

"I don't _need_ any of you actually." They seemed surprised. "We do great things together. But I'm not going to pretend I can't do this without you. Even Tattletale, push come to shove, I can survive without. But I'd like to see you guys do well. You're good kids at heart. Even Regent."

"I'd complain, but I see why you'd specify." Regent said. Man, dude could not shut up. Had to admire that.

"The point is, you guys can help me, and I can help you. Just because I don't _need_ you, doesn't mean you all aren't intelligent, skilled, and powerful enough to make things easier for me. If we come together, we can make each others lives easier."

"Wanting to kill the guy who pays us makes things easier?" Regent noted dryly.

I smirked. "Who says his money goes to waste afterwards?"

"…I like where your heads at." Regent said brightly.

"Me too." Tattletale said dreamily, apparently imagining the dollar bills pouring from the sky.

"Just get in contact if you want to start working with me. And if you do, then I'll tell you how it'll work." I walked over to the edge of the building, looking back at them. "And if he asks you about me, just remember one thing. In another universe, he's torturing you while asking the same question."

"And you?" Tattletale asked. "How are you dealing with him? If you meet him… Heh!" She began to laugh. "Ha! Hahahahaha!"

"What?" Grue looked between my smirking face and Tattletale's giggling form. "What is going on?"

"Well, here's the thing." I said as I prepared to leap off the building. "I know that anytime I see Thomas Calvert, there's a chance he's in his Coil identity across town in another timeline. So I have long since decided to ram my arm through his chest to shut down that timeline whenever I can. While screaming the most non-sensical thing I can to justify it."

Regent whistled. Tattletale continued to giggle. Grue didn't seem to know what to think of that.

"I don't want him, for any reason, speaking to me, interacting with me, or thinking of me as someone he can be around safely." I explained. "I don't approve of rapists."

"Apparently." Grue said.

I was going to jump away when Bitch walked over to me. She still had her face exposed, mask resting on her head, and she looked determined. The puppy had hung back with the bulldog and poodle, playing with the older dogs.

Bitch stopped in front of me. On a whim, I copied something I'd heard about from a novel. In the Codex Alera series, there is a race of Wolfmen. They think with predatory personalities, and so their body language is based on it. When two of these beings meet, they 'nod' by slightly exposing the neck. It's a mark of respect, showing a place with such a large amount of blood vessels to someone of a predatory

I twitched my head to the side, shallowly exposing my neck. Bitch's eyes flashed. Then she copied the move.

"Talk later."

"…Not too much, like today."

I nodded my agreement. "I had to do it you know. Break in."

"Hmpf." She seemed sour at that, but nodded. "You like talking."

"Sometimes." I admitted. "But then, I was human for a longer time than you were. Have to get used to being me now."

"…You're okay." She said firmly after a moment of looking me up and down.

In the background Regent whispered something, and Tattletale smacked his head.

"Till next time Bitch."

The young woman nodded, and watched as I leaped away.

On my way to the PRT headquarters, I found a Merchant selling drugs. I had time now, so I walked up to him. He smelled like shit. Literally actually. He was a tall, skinny guy, with tracks of needle marks on his arms, yellow teeth, and clothes that looked like they had been dropped in toxic sludge.

His smile as I walked up was disgusting. He looked up and down at my tattered appearance.

"Hey man," He had a smoker's voice, filled with a nasty cadence. "You looked like you got fucked up." He smiled a bit wider. "Or you want to get fucked up, right? You want something I—"

I let my tail lose. With Tattletale around, I had kept it hidden. No need to display a weakness. Hard to guess someone not only has a tail hidden, but that it's a weakness, when it isn't exposed. Now though, I liked the idea of letting someone freak out.

He stared at the tail, then at my face. "Shit. Did I take some bad crack?"

"Technically," I sped forward, finger-flicking his forehead. "All crack is bad." I chuckled. "Or whack. Right?"

He'd fallen to the floor, and so couldn't answer me.

Too bad. He'd missed a classic anti-drug slogan.

After leaving the Merchant in front of a police station, his drugs stacked on his chest, I continued to the PRT. I'd been planning to grab a phone book as well, look up some addresses, but the torn clothes and dog saliva on my body curtailed that till further notice.

I entered the building, walking towards my room, only to find two guards and Miss Militia, standing in front of my door. From their body language, they were annoyed, and that annoyance rose as they spotted me.

"…Man," I pulled at my ripped shirt. "You won't believe the night I had."


	14. Chapter 14

_**Interlude**_

 _Lisa_

Tattletale waited until they were all entering their base before speaking. But Regent beat her to it.

"Can we talk about what just fucking happened?" As he spoke, he hopped over the couch in front of the TV and idly removed his mask to reveal his almost feminine face. He dropped the white mask onto the cushion next to him and reached for his game controller.

"For once, Alec has a point." Grue removed his helmet and placed on the counter. Intelligent eyes looking out of a strong, dark-skinned face, looked over at Tattletale as Bitch strolled past, still holding the puppy she'd been given as the bulldog and poodle followed her. "Tats, what did you learn from him?"

Tattletale smirked at the level of faith her ally had in her. "More than he thought I did."

She took a moment to grab a notebook from a table full of random crap, and started to write while speaking.

"First off, he's not from around here. I'd guess he's Californian, based on his speech patterns, and he's been raised in America his whole life, probably born somewhere in the Bay Area. So he's new to Brockton Bay. His power increases, very slightly, as he works under stress. I could see it was getting just a tiny bit easier for him to push back Bitch's dogs as time passed. From what I can tell, he'll be able to reach Triumvarate level one, maybe in a decade or so."

"Like Dauntless?" Grue asked. He had taken a seat near the table in the kitchen, and was listening critically.

"Yeah, but probably slower in some ways, since he needs the sort of stress a good workout would give." Tattletale jotted down some more notes. "As for his personality, that's tougher to pin down. At a guess, he's a not a very new trigger, since he has a lot of confidence in his abilities, and knows how to use them as though he's read an instruction manual. He probably got his powers a few months ago, or has thinker abilities that let him comprehend them faster. He also had a clear understanding of the mindset Bitch had, and how to speak to her on her level."

Tattletale and Grue looked towards Bitch. She had given a stuffed toy shaped like a gorilla to the puppy, and was watching the small animal attack the comically larger toy. For some reason Tattletale couldn't take her eyes off the sight of a tiny dog attacking the comparatively massive gorilla toy, but shrugged it off after a moment.

"His understanding of Bitch is probably because of his thinker powers. He seems to be able to read body language, and that would help. He can be lied to, but I suggest you guys leave that to me if we need it, since it requires a bit of insight into his motivations."

"Anyone else notice how much guessing Tats is doing?" Regent said from his couch. As he spoke, his character was brutally beheading an enemy on screen.

"Fuck you." Her response got an easy chuckle from Regent. Tattletale sighed, continuing to write. "There's a lot more behind this. He knew too much about us. Acted as though he knew us, the way you know about a distant family member you hear a lot about. And he seemed a bit… hero worshippy?"

"Wait." Regent paused his game and put down the controller, turning to look at Tattletale with a grin. "You telling me we have a stalker fan?" Regent winced dramatically. "Damn, why can't he be a hot chick with big—"

"I doubt it was on that level." Lisa noted with an arched eyebrow. "It wasn't fanatical or anything."

"Just to be clear, I was not going to say big eyes." Regent said to Grue, who rolled his own eyes before turning back to Tattletale.

"And Coil?" Grue asked.

That stopped Tattletale. Once more her powers allowed her to look at all the information she had to come to conclusions. She shuddered as her power helpfully informed her of all the ways Coil had most likely used his powers on herself and the others.

"…What do you guys think?" She asked.

"I think I'm going to find out how much it costs to get a ticket out of here." Regent said, his usual humor gone and replaced by a sort of dark attitude.

"Wouldn't work." Tattletale shook her head. "Coil doesn't like his investments leaving for no reason. He'd find a way to kill you or bring you back. If any of us leave actually. He'd threaten someone important to us if he thought that would work."

"He'd do that?" Grue seemed to be in a turmoil of emotions. He seemed angry, scared, and worried. Most likely he was worried for his sister.

Tattletale sighed, feeling a headache beginning to set in. "I'm going say we need a bit of time. We found out a lot today. For one, a powerful cape is apparently trying to turn us into his pet project." Tattletale almost scoffed at the naïve notion. "And for another, our boss is a psychopath."

"In his defense, pretty much every villain in this town is a psycho," Regent noted. "And a lot of the heroes aren't much better."

Grue nodded in agreement. Considering Shadow Stalker had apparently gained an obsession with killing him, it was no surprise. He crossed his arms. Tattletale looked at him carefully, trying to guess what was going through his mind. It was easy enough. In the end, all the Undersiders had relatively simple goals. Rachel wanted to be left alone with her dogs. Lisa wanted money. Alec wanted freedom. And Brian wanted his sister to be safe.

They weren't city conquerors, world saviors, or anything more than thugs for hire trying to get by.

And here was this random hero showing out of nowhere to change all that. Brian, Grue, was most likely feeling a lot of resentment for that. He didn't want to be more than a good big brother. At the same time, he had the feeling that this Gohan person was about to pull them into a big mess.

After a bit of thought, Lisa had to agree. At the same time, she felt a fond smile grow under her mask.

Because underneath his dissatisfaction was anger and determination on the behalf of herself and the others. He didn't care so much about being tortured himself, but the thought of it happening to the others? His lantern jaw twitched, and Regent slowly returned to playing his game after seeing the rage begin to twist Grue's face into something more worthy of demon than man.

"Let me think this over, see how much trouble we're in." Tattletale offered softly.

"…Work fast." Grue returned.

"One thing." Surprise was shared by all as they turned to Bitch. She had the puppy sitting on her head. The puppy and Bitch looked at the group seriously, somehow managing to look cute and solemn all at once. "You said he wasn't human? So what is he?"

Everyone looked at Tattletale. She removed her mask, revealing her pretty features, and shook her head.

"I don't know. His powers must have messed with him though, because whatever was human about him is slowly changing as he grows stronger. The way he acts, talks, and fights, is evolving." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter I guess. One problem at a time. First I need to figure out what we should do. Then I'll see what I can find out about the newest member of the hero brigade."

"You think he's on the up and up?" Grue asked. "That he'll help us with Coil?"

"Hopefully without arresting us," Regent added without looking from his game. "Or jamming holes into our skulls with his fingers."

Tattletale thought about that. "…I think it's not his style to do otherwise. But he struck me as naïve. He might expect the PRT to help us, rather than throw us in prison."

"Moron." Regent replied.

Nobody said anything to that. After all, they'd all had their own reasons for avoiding the PRT.

Tattletale considered the two men in question. Coil, true name Thomas Calvert, a man who would torture or assassinate anyone who got in his way, and whose powers allowed him the closest equivalent to a reset button on life that she'd ever heard of, allowing to dodge any attempts on his life with incredible precision. Now that she knew his powers, she could plan around them, but she needed resources and time.

And then there was Gohan Moha, real name unknown. Strength, speed, and durability, on a massive level for all three. He had a weakness, she'd been able to tell that from certain subtle motions he'd made, but without more information she had no idea what that weakness was exactly.

Her powers helpfully supplied her with information on the many ways Coil and Gohan could kill the group. Coil would send in assassins. Start with sniping Brian to neutralize his darkness before it could begin. Grenades at Rachel before she could make a move, blowing away her and her dogs. And if Alec and Lisa herself survived the grenades, a hail of bullets would do the job. While Alec could control someone, doing so to a group of people he'd had no contact with, all wielding machine guns, wouldn't be enough.

Gohan would be even more brutal. His speed was the key. Combined with his durability and strength, it made him a lightning fast bruiser, capable of simply jamming a finger into all of their skulls before they could move. He could, if he wished, bust through the wall as they sat here, and kill them in the beat of a heart.

Lisa swallowed, but pushed down the small fear. Coil had no way of knowing what was happening, and Gohan had been honest about his intentions, so killers, normal or superhuman, wouldn't be coming anytime soon. Still, she had to consider her options.

Whatever else, her life had faced a turning point tonight. Now the only thing was to deal with the consequences, and survive them.

 _Colin_

Armsmaster stood on behind Piggot as he watched her rail at the newest Protectorate member. On any other day, he would have plenty to say on the subject of Gohan's little unauthorized jaunt into the city, especially with his torn clothes and the oddly sickening smell of dog saliva now hanging around him.

Gohan was still under probation, in a sense, due to his suspicious circumstances. So Armsmaster had been planning to try and guide the younger man, if he proved to be an asset rather than a threat, in how to smooth over his relations with the PRT. If he did well with Gohan, maybe the higher ups would take notice of his leadership abilities.

Despite his best attempts however, he was only half-listening. While he took his job seriously (too seriously according to some) he was a little distracted.

The past days had been extremely exciting. With the reveal of Kid Win's specialty had come a world of possibilities. He'd often been frustrated with the younger tinker. There had been days he would get angry at his lack of focus, at the half-done projects.

Armsmaster prided himself on his focus and drive. It sometimes annoyed him that others couldn't find it in themselves to understand the sort of dedication, the willingness for sleepless nights and hard decisions, that being a hero meant.

Kid Win finding out his specialty was very exciting however. Modular technology. Amazing. But the true gift was what could be done when Armsmaster added his ability to miniaturize, and Dragon added her incredible understanding of tinker technology.

Equipment which had multiple applications, fit in a small space, and incorporated incredible technologies. It was like a dream come true. The three of them had spent hours discussing what was possible by working together. The technology they could produce as a group would make all three among some of the better heroes on the planet. That was the hope at least.

Kid Win still needed work of course, but the enthusiasm he was bringing to his work now was infectious.

As it was, equipment like his halberds had already been fitted with a plethora of equipment for various problems that could come up, his ability to miniaturize technology allowing him that. But Kid Win would allow him to further that to an insane degree.

Working on Gohan's armor and weapon had been a good test project. Working together on it had been as much a prototype for their new working relationship as for the technology they were creating. And so far, all three budding creations were coming along well.

Dragon was the biggest reason why the relationship was going well. Armsmaster would freely admit he wasn't very good with people. He'd sometimes been accused of being abrasive, other times robotic. Whereas Kid Win had the problem of being a teenager, one of the more annoying subtypes of humans. Kid Win was better than most, but he still clearly chaffed under orders and demands, while Armsmaster would get annoyed at any delays or moments where Kid Win seemed to lag in efficiency, asking for breaks at random moments as though going to the bathroom or eating would help get the work done faster.

And don't get him started on Kid Win's need for sleep.

Dragon however, kept things calm. Even without being in the room, she had a gift for keeping the other two tinkers from losing their tempers or losing enthusiasm.

Armsmaster ignored the slight warmth that tended to come when Dragon entered his thoughts, instead refocusing on the issue at hand.

Piggot was shaking her head in disbelief. "A walk?"

"An enthusiastic walk." Gohan said simply. Armsmaster's helmet noted he seemed hopeful for some reason.

"…Your enthusiastic walks end with you coming back in torn clothes and covered in dog saliva?" Piggot sounded somewhere between enraged and confused.

" _Very_ enthusiastic walks." Now his HUD was saying Gohan was pleased and massively amused. Signals he was used to getting while around Assault. He was also lying.

"What happened out there?" Armsmaster stepped forward, crossing his arms seriously. "Were you attacked by Hellhound?"

"Who the what now?" Gohan cocked his head to the side. The lie detection software said his confusion was honest.

"A young woman who can turn the average dog into something from a horror movie." Piggot sounded both angry and exhausted now.

"Oh… she insists on Bitch." There was humor there, and a hint of smugness. Worrying.

"So you did meet her?" Piggot frowned. "We also got several reports of a man with your description saving several civilians. Did you go out on an unsanctioned patrol?"

Gohan didn't say a word. He simply smiled nervously. According to the detection software, his body was undergoing the same sort of changes one would feel when refusing to lie to a superior or family member, but unwilling to tell the full truth.

Piggot seemed even angrier. "You do _not_ go out on patrol without letting us know. We have rules for a reason. If you went out as you were, no radio, no partner, no one knowing where you were, you could have died. Not to mention I already have a team of analysts making sure you aren't a threat. Acting this way doesn't help prove you actually want to help."

The muscular young man winced, rubbing the back of his head with a sigh. Armsmaster looked over at the Director in surprise. She was showing an odd level of anger and concern. Pushing past his surprise, he looked over at Gohan.

"I have to agree. As team leader, I don't like the idea of you going out on your own. Risking your life for the city is a noble cause, but doing it unintelligently will turn on you. As strong as you are, you can't underestimate the level of danger in this job. Another outburst like this could also look bad for us if you end up hurt or dead. The reputation of the Protectorate is another weapon we wield."

Even as he spoke, Armsmaster's mind raced. His lie detection software was working, as far as he could tell, other than some odd readings he put down to Gohan's odd biology. Maybe it would be best to discover the truth by asking exactly what happened to Gohan tonight?

"How did you meet Hellhound?" Piggot was apparently on the same page.

"I followed the scent of dogs." Gohan said simply. "I have a super-strong sense of smell, and I found a massive concentration of a smell I recognized as belonging to dogs. When I went there to confirm my findings, Bitch and her team were there."

"You're hiding something." Armsmaster crossed his arms sternly as his software noted the half-truth. "What is it?"

"…I went out to look for trouble tonight." Gohan sighed. "I didn't exactly want a fight but… I was seeking conflict."

Piggot's nostrils flared in anger. "That is extremely unprofessional at best, and reckless at worst. You want to be a superhero, you find a way to control that."

"Can't exactly help it." The young man ran a hand through his ink-black hair. "Powers seek conflict, and conflict breeds powers, you know? I'll try to do better about it though."

Things seemed to slow for a moment. Armsmaster frowned, running those words through his head. Powers seek conflict, conflict breeds powers. His software noted a certain weight to the words. Gohan _believed_ in those words, with the same sort of simplicity as a man discussing gravity and the passage of time. What did that mean?

" _Odd phrase, isn't it?"_ Dragon's voice came over his comm. She sounded curious. _"I've never heard that before."_

He didn't reply, and didn't need to.

" _I'll check where he went on the cities cameras."_ Dragon said. _"But he isn't lying at least."_

"Not good enough." He said that to both Gohan and Dragon. "We'll be keeping a closer eye on you."

"Oh come on!" Gohan looked irritated. "I'm trying, but you guys are going to lock me up every day? I can't get any time to just go out without any supervision?"

"Not until we're sure you aren't a threat." Piggot's eyes narrowed. "No more unsanctioned patrols. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but these restrictions are meant to keep us safe from you becoming a potential threat. They are necessary."

Gohan growled. For a moment, his face become something closer to an animals than a humans. He rose from his seat. "Fine. I guess you'll send me a list of what I can and can't do from now on?"

"Yes." Her voice brokered no argument.

"…Later." He left, coming just short of slamming the door.

"We might be getting a bit unfair here." Dragon's voice filled the room now.

"How so?" Piggot cocked an eyebrow.

"We're spending a lot of time worrying about what a threat Gohan _could_ be, but he hasn't really done anything up to now to justify that suspicion. He's dangerous, and has the potential to become even more so with time." Dragon said. "But while we should be cautious, being too restrictive of him could have consequences. He'll start to feel trapped, and constrained, like he's being imprisoned for crimes he hasn't committed yet. I'd wager that's one of the reasons he left without telling anyone."

"You're suggesting that even if he is honest, he might turn on us if he feels we're mistreating him?" Piggot asked, lifting a hand to her many chins.

"He might not become a villain," Dragon replied, "He hasn't shown any inclination towards things like that, unless he is a manipulator and liar of incredible skill. But he may ask to be transferred elsewhere, if he feels he's being unreasonably constrained." Dragon offered.

Piggot hummed. "And I have gotten some requests for him."

"You did?" Armsmaster asked, surprised.

"They weren't worded as such of course." Piggot said calmly. "But a few people have mentioned other cities that might need a brute with his power. And then of course, Kid Win."

"What about him?" Dragon asked.

"Since you sent in the report on his new developments, one or two departments suggested he might do better in other cities as well." Piggot crossed her arms, annoyance flowing from her. "Empire, ABB, and Merchants all tearing apart my city, other departments trying to take my agents out from under me, and I've got my newest soldier giving reasons for the brass upstairs to claim I can't control him." Annoyance had turned to anger.

"I understand." Dragon said soothingly. "I've noticed it too. For some reason, there has been some odd talk about Brockton lately. Little things. Attention on the city that wasn't there before."

"Why haven't you mentioned anything like this before?" Armsmaster asked. For some reason there was a slight pain in his chest as he thought about Dragon keeping something from him. He made a note for later to check if he'd strained something or if a past injury was acting up.

"I didn't have any reason to think it was anything other than simple interest in the city." She admitted. "But with what you've mentioned Director, I think something more is going on. I can compile a report on my findings and send it to you?"

"Do it." Piggot leaned forward to look at Armsmaster. "If something is going on in my city, I want to know it, and especially to find out why the people above me are trying to hide it. In the meantime, double-time your work on Gohan's equipment. Getting it done might work as appeasement, let him know that the restrictions are temporary. An olive branch, until he proves his worth. But… is there a way to use the armor to deal with him, if he goes rogue?"

Armsmaster thought about that. There were indeed. The armor was being built to restrict his movements, make it so that he could workout his muscles constantly against a matching force. But it that force could be increased at a whim, it would be possible to completely keep Gohan still under a force even stronger than himself. It wouldn't work forever, but it could be enough to keep him constrained.

"I'll see what I can do."

Dragon was silent as Armsmaster left the office.

"What's wrong?" He asked her.

" _All these restrictions we're placing on Gohan."_ She said softly on his comm. _"And building his armor to be used against him if we need to. What if it all is unnecessary? What if we're just bullying an innocent person who wants to help?"_

Armsmaster's answer came easily. "It's for the sake of safety. We can't risk the lives of many people for the chance that one possible threat might not turn against us."

" _Colin… I'll talk to you later."_

The light indicating Dragon's connection to his comm blinked out. Armsmaster frowned in confusion at the abrupt exit, but pushed it from his mind.

Now, how to incorporate the new mode into Gohan's armor.

 _Amelia_

"Why did you even go out?" Panacea asked Gohan. They were both sitting on the floor of the large concrete room that he and the others had sparred in yesterday. She was wearing her costume again, her hood back and robes gathered underneath her. There were several new craters from the fights of yesterday, but otherwise the large room was exactly the same.

The others hadn't come in for various reasons, patrols, family, or dates, leaving Gohan, Amy, and a PRT guard watching them.

Amy wiggled slightly, feeling the spongy material of the blue workout mat they were sitting on give way under her body as Gohan smiled sheepishly at her.

"It was something I felt I had to do I guess." He said calmly. "Anyways, now I have my own personal, permanent guard, for the week at least. This is Steve."

The guard, wearing the massive and intimidating black armor all PRT soldiers wore when on the job, nodded his helmeted head towards her, his foam launcher in hand.

"Uh, hi." Amy said softly. She wasn't scared or anything, but the fact that she was sitting with someone who needed to be watched constantly made her worry about what her mother would think. Carol Dallon was not the most understanding person in the world after all. Well, except towards Vicky.

It was part of why she was there alone after all.

"Anyways," Gohan said, bringing Amy out of her thoughts. "How did practicing on your own go?"

"I uh, didn't get anywhere." She scowled. She'd tried, but after an hour of sitting in her room, she'd found no way of mimicking the exercise Gohan had given her.

"Well, we'll do it together." He extended his hands out to her, palms towards the ceiling. After a hesitant moment, she joined hands with him. "What were you having trouble with?"

"Getting the energy to move." Amy said softly. "I tried to do it the way you told me too, make my ki flow into the same kind of light you made, but it just, it doesn't make sense!" She frowned. "I mean, it does make sense when you explain it, and it makes sense in my head too. I sat down, I tried to control the flow like blood through veins. But I just—"

Her voice had been rising, a hint of her frustration coming through. Gohan placed a hand on her head. She blinked, looking up to meet his eyes. He smiled fondly at her.

"It's cool." He chuckled, rubbing her head a bit. "Man, that dissatisfaction of yours though. I thought you were a Dende, but that drive and determination of yours is a lot more Vegeta than anything."

"What?" Amy asked, now confused.

"Just the musings of an old nerd I guess." Gohan placed his hand. "I guess you've been frustrated while pulling at your ki? Trying to force it out?" She nodded. "That's your mistake right there I think. When I tapped into my ki, I had to use the most natural emotion to me to channel it. But from there, it was breathing."

He was wearing a simple white t-shirt, and pointed at his stomach. "Yesterday I said using ki is similar to forcing blood to pump through the veins. But a better analogy is breathing air. A lot of living things do it. It's the first thing we do when we're born. Without even noticing unless you miss or it's mentioned, breathing is a part of you."

As he spoke, Amy felt the air fill her lungs. He was right. She never really paid attention, but now that he was saying it, she could feel the air enter through her lips, like a chill, passing down into her throat and filling her lungs. Her powers gave her an intimate understanding of the further processes behind how air entered the blood stream, fueling the body and keeping cells alive.

Gohan continued to speak, his voice almost meditative. "But a martial artist, or any good athlete, learns to control their breathing, to make it fuel for every motion. What every other person in the world takes for granted, doesn't even notice, we are completely aware of. Not just the way we ourselves breathe, but the way others do sometimes."

He tapped his throat. "Hit someone here, even a bit, and the sudden interruption of their breathing leaves them disorientated." His chest, right on the sternum. "A good blow here expels all the air from the lungs. So on and so forth. Seeing an opponent taking in a breath in a certain way can be the prelude to certain movements and attacks. It tells you when they're angry, sad, happy, or even horny."

The last one brought a blush to Amy's face. He noticed, and chuckled good-naturedly. "Ki is the same way. As you get better at sensing it, you'll be able to feel much more subtle variations from other people. More than that, you'll be able to do more with it. Flying is sort of the basics."

Amy felt a suspicion just then. It happened whenever Gohan got truly in-depth in his explanations of ki.

He was a very odd person. Almost childish at times, with a very honest and brash personality. Vicky liked that about him apparently. At the same time, he seemed much older than his age as well, speaking with a strange sort of wisdom when he spoke about ki for example. And yet, despite the fact she had never heard of ki, and he himself had once admitted he was new to using it, he seemed to know a lot about what was possible with it. He kept making grandiose promises about it, making it hard to trust him at times.

He seemed to understand her hesitance, and sighed. "Look the point I'm making, is that you had ki your entire life. Everyone does. But the chances of people gaining any sort of skill with it is almost non-existent. Even with the number of people in the world today, not many of them are real athletes after all. And monks who can use ki to do thinks like bend spears against their bellies or ninjas who can move fast enough to catch arrows are the sorts of things you hear about it legends. If athletes who can control their breathing are about twenty in a hundred, then user of ki are one in six thousand, and true ki specialists are more like one in six hundred _million_. When you look at old legends, of guys with magic, martial artists who can shake mountains, and heroes like Hercules, who's to say those can't be explained by ki."

He chuckled. "But that's mostly conjecture. This is the age of parahumans, and any abilities like that are superpowers most of the time."

"Are you sure?" Amy was actually starting to get excited. This was actually interesting. "Maybe all capes are using ki without knowing it? It would fit right?"

Gohan frowned, then shook his head. "I'll explain why one day, but cape abilities and ki are different. For now, I'd like us to meditate. Then we'll look over your physical condition to see what work should be done for you, with a quick workout." When she winced, he simply smiled. "I'm not going to lie, it'll be hard. But for now, just remember the end goal, and use that to push you forward. And one, you and I will be moving through the sky like birds."

She thought about that. About floating in the air, feeling cold wind on her face, and staring at the ground below as she shot through the clouds. Then a heavy blush appeared as she thought of Vicky flying alongside her. A gorgeous smile on her face, her bright blonde hair floating in the wind as sunlight brushed against her, her firm curves caressed by the wind—

She shook her head, stopping that train of thought, and focused once more. "Okay, what should I do?"

Gohan nodded at her, face serious. "Okay. Like I said, controlling ki is like breathing. Imagine, for example, you have a metaphorical 'diaphragm' you don't know about, and it works to help you control the volume and flow of your ki, like the way you can control just how much air gets in and out of your lungs. It's not a perfect metaphor, but the way it works…"

As Amy listened, so did the PRT guard. And later, as she struggled through push-ups and Gohan, he sent a message to someone.

 _Possible trump._

 **Author's Note:** Hopefully that was a fun read. So yeah, long wait time on this one. Due to problems with power and such, things haven't been going s fast-paced on my stories as I'd hoped, but the veritible libraries of notes I've taken on everything helped.

I tried to go for a more negative opinion of Gohan in each interlude. In the first, Lisa is looking at him the way a villain should, on a basis of 'how useful' and 'how much a threat'. Armsmaster is still being a bit stern, and the way Dragon is acting about the situation just seemed to come out naturally as I wrote. I couldn't help but wonder how she'd act while seeing something similar to her own situation going down, especially considering that the treatment of Canary later in-universe was an apparent sore spot for her. As for Panacea, she's about to get the sort of training that will make her later ask Green Barets, 'do you even lift?'

Panacea will never become Krillin, she just isn't a fighter. But the thought of her being similar to the more subtle users of ki is an appealing one. And I really think the comparison between her and Vegeta has some basis. The two have a few things in common, personality wise. As much as I love Pan-Pan, she acted like a true ass in canon, often times screwing over people because of her skewed perceptions of the world. This could be because Taylor is an unreliable narrator, but that's all based on perception I suppose.

And I really enjoyed comparing breathing and ki use. It made me think of JoJo, but it also seems like a better comparison than the one about controlling blood flow. For one thing, controlling breathing is way more repeatable than controlling blood flow.

Also, chapter is unbeta'd. Please tear it apart, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless.

And now, to write about Pokemon and Superman.


	15. Chapter 15

**_Author's Note: Hope you guys like this. Please read and review, it's been a long time coming, and update the tropes page if you feel it worthy. Hopefully you guys have a lot of meet to dig into for this chapter :)_**

 ** _March 2nd, 2011_**

My armor was badass.

That was all I could think as I stood in front of a full-length mirror, moving my arms about and making sure I could fight effectively if need be. It wasn't the full costume of course, since Britney the PR Fairy was reworking the design, but it was meant to be the base for the rest of the outfit.

"So uh, what do you think?"

The armor shifted slightly as I moved to look at the speaker, but not in an uncomfortable way. I was standing in the center of a room with the clean smooth concrete floors garages and warehouses across America. The counters and wheeled table held screwdrivers, drills, hammers, and other tools, while the shelves had more precise instruments placed on hooks. The room wasn't big, since Kid Win apparently didn't need a lot of space, only as large as a classroom I suppose. It was kind of disappointing, since I'd been picturing something similar to Tony Stark's workshop in the comics, but I suppose a giant room filled with a ridonkulous amount of armor was a tad unrealistic.

"Although I guess JARVIS would be useful." I mused to myself.

"What?" Kid Win asked, going from nervous to confused.

"Just an old nerds rambling." I looked at the armor again.

The chestpiece was similar in design to those of Saiyans, something I'd asked for, with the various panels meant to mimic pectoral muscles and a yellow section of overlapping plates over the abdominal section allow more mobility. It was an inky black, and had the appearance of cloth against a hard plastic. My arms were covered in a skintight substance that had a meshlike appearance, similar to artwork I'd seen of the skinsuits that Halo Spartans had. The substance was thin enough that you could see the shape of my arms, but still thick enough to feel armored. It ended in a fingerless glove style. The mesh was thicker at my shoulders, and a pair of panels like the one on my stomach were place along my shoulders.

My legs had the same meshlike substance, but that was covered by a pair of black pants that reminded me of the kind of pants Aladdin wore in the cartoon, all baggy and easy to move in. The pants folded into a pair of simple combat boots.

The overall color scheme was interesting. While technically black, it was a black so deep as to appear blue, with the yellow sections on my stomach and shoulders popping out like the sun rising over a dark horizon.

"This looks pretty cool." I grinned at Kid Win, then looked at Armsmaster, Assault, and Panacea. "What do you guys think?"

"I think the kid does good work." Assault grinned at Kid Win. "Whatever you're getting paid isn't enough."

Kid Win blushed, pleased.

"You want me to wear something like that?" Panacea asked. She sounded somewhere between reluctant and intrigued.

Armsmaster looked at her, then at me. I nodded at them both. "Not exactly the same. But you're my student now, and I'm damn well going to keep you safe as I can."

"You know I wear Kevlar already." Panacea noted, walking towards me to poke at the armor.

"It won't always be enough." Armsmaster said. "Many Capes have abilities that make standard protection like Kevlar useless. Getting stronger armor might be good for you."

Panacea nodded thoughtfully. "It does look good."

"You hear that?" I asked Kid Win with a smile. "You're an artist."

He grinned giddily.

"So what's it do?" Assault asked the pair of tinkers in the room. "If I know tech nerds, you two are probably chomping at the bit to tell all about what this armor can do."

"Hn." Armsmaster grunted.

"Why do you keep poking it?" I asked Panacea.

"It feels weird." She noted, cocking her head. In the background, Armsmaster nodded to a camera in the corner of the room.

"So what do you think?" I asked her. She looked up at me, brown eyes questing. "Gonna take my advice?"

"…Maybe." She said softly. Then she smirked. "You are my sensei after all."

I groaned in annoyance at that. "I told you, I'm barely a teacher as is. You said you wanted to stop learning as soon as you can fly, remember?"

"Of course… sensei." Her teasing tone was followed by my groan of annoyance. I should never have introduced her to anime. Blasphemy to think so, but there were days…

Dragon's voice suddenly filled the room. "Okay. Here's a schematic."

The pair of us looked up to see a screen light up. Armsmaster crossed his arms, Kid Win smirked, and Assault's eyes widened at the sight. "Whoa."

It was an image of several layers of a cross section of the armor. Well, more like _dozens_ of layers.

"Lahilahi." I said softly. "What did you guys do?"

"It's a combination of all our skills!" Kid Win said excitedly.

"Sort of a prototype of other builds we have planned." Dragon explained over intercom. "The layers of the skinsuit are fit with miniaturized networks of a networking matrix I designed based on those of a tinker I once worked with, who specialized in computers." Her father then. "Armsmaster worked on miniaturizing the technology, while Kid Win integrated it into the systems. Everything in the armor runs off the systems."

"You guys made sure you could take over the armor right?" I asked worriedly. "Cause I've read way too many stories where the computer in a guy's armor gets hacked and turned against him."

Armsmaster stiffened. Only for a moment, so fast that only my super-speed let me catch it. Before I could wonder why, Dragon spoke.

"It's locked to only be accessed by authorized personal. Myself, Armsmaster, and Kid Win. If anyone does try to hack it, we will get a warning, and can shut things down, making the armor just very good protection."

"Oh, good." If Dragon was there to stop hackers, anything short of Saint wouldn't be able to touch me. Hmm, still had to deal with him actually. "So what does this do?"

Armsmaster took over speaking, pointing at the outermost layers of the suit. "First is protection. The skinsuit is resistant to almost all forms of damage I could think of, much like my own armor." He eyed me. "As I understand, you had some trouble with wardrobe damage. This should help with that."

"The women of the Bay are gonna hate that." Assault said. Panacea giggled as I sighed at the joke. Wardrobe malfunction is not something I wanted to be (in)famous for as a superhero. Hopefully that would go away soon.

"The chestpiece and pauldrons," Armsmaster continued as though Assault hadn't spoken. "Are made of far stronger material. A titanium nanocomposite Dragon invented recently. With your durability and strength, we were able to forgo certain structural issues in favor of further strengthening certain sections. Basically, since we don't have to worry about protecting your body from the kinetic force of bullets, we didn't make the effort to add things beyond a simple gel layer."

"What about much bigger impacts?" I asked.

"Hn." Armsmaster looked over at me. "If there is anything that is powerful enough to hurt you, a little extra padding wouldn't have stopped it." When I nodded, he continued. "The most important parts is the resistance matrix."

He grabbed my right arm, moving to tap a spot on my wrist wear a watch would rest. A small round bulge rested at that point. "This is the dial that controls the amount of resistance you'll feel."

"It contracts and retracts on your body based on your movements!" Kid Win seemed to be vibrating as he spoke, eyes wide with happiness. "It adapts to every muscle twitch by using the onboard systems to read each one. I also uploaded footage of your fighting and had Dragon make a recording, so I think I can eventually get it to do the reverse."

"Reverse?" I said, knowing what that must mean.

"Make you faster and stronger, instead of slower and weaker." As he spoke, I pressed at the bulge on my wrist, trying to get it to work. "Ah, you might want to—"

I spun my finger clockwise along the edge of the dial. Then my limbs snapped straight, an intense _pressure_ pressed down on every part of my body. I fell on my back, yelping in shock.

As I lay there, trying to understand what the hell just happened, Armsmaster, Assault, Kid Win, and Panacea came over to look down at me.

"I tried to tell you." Kid Win said chidingly. "The suit is pretty advanced, but it'll still break the limbs of a normal person. You're lucky you can handle the level of resistance you just put yourself through."

"You okay, bro?" Assault asked as Panacea poked at my cheek curiously.

"I-I… I don't know. Help. I think my spine shattered."

"Release restraint, level thirty." Armsmaster said.

As the armor stopped treating my body like a towel getting wrung out, I cheered internally at both the voice command and the promise of a true workout.

 ** _March 3rd, 2011_**

"Come on, keep pushing, me and you!" I did another push-up, watching Panacea across from me struggle once more. She was wearing workout clothes, just a baggy t-shirt and baggy shorts she'd borrowed from her dad. I was wearing my resistance armor.

As we'd been doing for the past two hours, we both pushed ourselves as hard as possible. I was sweating like crazy, trying not to pass out. My muscles burned as acid flooded my veins. My focus was split between moving, blocking out pain, and breathing. Panacea looked as tired as I felt, her face red and arms trembling.

We dropped down as one towards the concrete floor of the room that had become more and more ours. At the same time, our ki flowed around us. I could feel my own flooding through me, and knew Panacea was trying to use her own to mimic the way my ki strengthened my body. A bead of sweat rolled down my nose, hung there for a moment, then splashed to the floor.

Then we rose up. Panacea fell back on her ass, gasping in pain and exertion. I grinned at her, feeling a deep warmth in my chest that had nothing to do with my lungs struggling for breath. I did the ten extra push-ups for my own workout, then fell back as well.

"I ever tell you how proud I am of you?" I asked her.

"Everyday." She gave me a smile, blushing slightly.

"Well I am." I rose up, holding hand out to help her. "You're doing really well. You couldn't do more than ten push-ups when we started. Now you're up to thirty."

Her blush deepened, and she scoffed. "Still not as many as you. And you do everything wearing that armor."

With a frown, I bopped her on the head gently. "Hey, you know you shouldn't think like that. I cheat, remember? I have all sort of advancements to help me get stronger. Besides, you don't compare yourself to a people who are better, you compare yourself to how you were when you started. And you're advancing really well, in all areas."

I ruffled her hair, getting an annoyed glare that I chuckled at.

"How about you, Steve?" I looked over at the PRT Guard assigned to me. "You agree with me?"

"Of course." He said with no emotion.

Hm. Guy was still a blank slate. Probably an asshole. Oh well.

Choosing to ignore the guard, I focused once more. "Okay. Ready?"

Pana… Amy, used to the pattern we'd followed since the beginning, nodded nervously. She took a look at where my tail used to be.

Yeah, felt weird knowing that it was gone. They'd cut it off in surgery, followed by incinerating the thing. I was going to miss it. But I'd get it back one day, of that was sure.

Panacea looked away from missing tail and managed to give me a hesitant grin.

"I'm gonna kick your butt… sensei."

Her smile went from hesitant to impish when she saw me grumble in annoyance. Then she dropped into the aikido stance I'd taught her. I dialed up my resistance armor a couple levels, sighing in an odd combination of effort and satisfaction at the feeling of my body being place under even greater pressure than before.

Then Panacea tried to punch me in the face. I blocked, spinning around to begin showing my student who the real master was.

 ** _March 4th, 2011_**

"You stole it from Star Wars?" Vista asked incredulously as we sat together in the cafeteria. It was me, Miss Militia, Clockblocker, and her. All were in costume. Vista and Clockblocker sat across from me and Miss Militia, my massive lunch taking over most of the table. Everyone else I knew was out patrolling or with loved ones.

"Stole implies I somehow tried to claim ownership afterwards." I told her as I finished the box of pizza I'd brought from the buffet. "I told her from the start that I was basing a lot of my stuff off my nerd obsessions. Besides, it's a good code."

"Why so much focus on Panacea by the way?" Miss Militia asked from her seat next to me. I tried to ignore the motion of our arms brushing against each other as we moved. "You've been pretty set on teaching her."

"Hey, I'd teach these two also if I could." I pointed at Vista and Clockblocker. "But the Youth Guard lady said we aren't allowed to turn the Wards into soldiers, so I don't get as much dedicated time as I'd like."

I scowled. That damn lady was a moron. 'Oh, don't turn kids into soldiers! Just send the out against _fucking supervillains who think of torture, murder, and rape as opening acts!_ ' I understood the sentiment on one level, but damned if I supported the action.

"Still, why not Glory Girl?" Miss Militia gave me a curious look. "Someone more like you?"

"…I guess I see something in her that most don't." I shrugged.

"I wish I got more training like that." Vista grumbled. "They keep telling me I push myself too hard."

"You are crazy." Clockblocker said simply. His mask shifted into a smile at the glare Vista gave him. "Panacea too. Have you seen the shit this guy puts her through!? Seriously, she's gonna be as big a bodybuilder at this rate."

"It's no more than what I do every day." Miss Militia said. "And I haven't gotten to that level."

We all looked at her. I looked away very quickly when I found my eyes tracing her curves a little too closely, while Vista seemed envious. Clockblocker was still staring.

"Anyways," I coughed into a fist. "The Jedi Code, at least the version I picked, has excellent application towards my teachings, the teachings I'm creating." I lifted a finger while swallowing a burger. "First. Emotion, yet peace. We feel emotion, but we don't let it destroy it. Fear is used to warn. Anger is used to fuel. Love is used to stabilize. Our emotions are meant to help us. Otherwise, fear paralyzes and panics us, anger blinds us, and love becomes obsession. So we have to balance them. Feel the emotions, adknowledge them, and accept their existence while never releasing our control of them and becoming a monster like so many of the supervillains of today."

The others listened as I used the teacher voice I'd been practicing with Pana… Amy.

"Second, Ignorance, yet Knowledge. Someone, a badass, once said the first step to learning is saying 'I don't know'. I believe firmly in that. How can you learn if you refuse to accept you _have_ something to learn? Hell, we have the Empire as an example of what happens when people are ignorant, yet refuse to accept knowledge." Miss Militia nodded at that. "So the first step to being a teacher or a student, is being willing to acknowledge your ignorance, and taking steps to correct it.

"Third, Passion, yet Serenity. Kind of similar to the first on the surface. Basically, go for the things important to you. If you're a writer, make if your goal to finish that book as diligently as possible. If you want to lose weight, make the steps to do so with all your heart, and stick with it. And if you're a superhero, be the best damn one you can."

Vista perked up at that.

"But don't lose yourself in those passions. Don't make them the end all, be all of your life, while sacrificing what is good for you. Write, but eat, sleep, and take breaks, rather than losing yourself. Lose weight if you can, but don't break your body with dangerous workouts and ruin your health with dangerous eating habits. And, of course, be a superhero," I waved a hand around at the group. "But don't lose yourself to the point that when you look back, all you'll have is a life of violence and hate. Plenty of cops crack under less pressure than superheroes go through. If you don't some time to relax and take a breath…"

I shrugged.

"And then there's Chaos, yet Harmony?"

We all looked over at Clockblocker. He shrugged. "What? I listen."

"I wish you did it more often." Miss Militia noted with a gentle smile. Clockblocker smirked under his mask at that.

"Chaos, yet Harmony." I sighed slightly. "This one is… kinda hard. Mostly because it requires a certain level of acceptance and strength. Basically, in horrifically simple terms, it means 'shit happens, so deal with it'." I shook my head. "But obviously it's more than that. First, one has to understand that life is full of chaos. We cannot control every detail. We can't save every person in the world from poverty, disease, and death. No one mortal being can."

Clockblocker looked down at the table. His body language shifted into one indicating a deep emotional pain.

"But that doesn't mean we panic." I continued hurriedly. "We can't let chaos make us feel like we have no control. None us know if we might get the flu, be we can take steps to prevent it, and if need be, manage it when we do get the flu. If Kaiser and the Empire suddenly smashed through that wall—"

I pointed at the wall next to me. We all turned to look at it, and held our breaths. After a moment of nothing happening, we turned back to the conversation.

"If that happened, it would be a shock, but it would be useless to panic in that situation, when simply rolling with it and doing what is necessary will help us way more than just lying down and waiting for the pain to stop."

"And that's it."

Clockblocker blinked. "Wait, there's one more, isn't there?"

The girls looked between us. I winced. "Well yeah. Death, yet the Force. But how the hell does that one work?"

"Didn't you say that ki is basically the Force?" Vista asked. I'd long since explained what I was doing with Panacea and ki.

"Only it the sense they are both forms of energy with a wide range of capabilities. By that definition, electricity and radiation have as much in common with ki as the Force does." A plate of spaghetti let me think for a few minutes before I spoke. "The Force is a heavy part of the belief system in Star Wars for the simple reason that it is directly involved in the afterlife of the universe. Death, yet the Force means, even as people die, they'll simply rejoin with the Force and continue to live on in someway."

"But I don't want to say anything like that about ki." I finished. "Concepts like the afterlife are just to big for me to involve into the code I want to make for whatever I end calling this school of martial arts I'm teaching. The other concepts are very multipurpose. You don't need to be something specific, like an atheist, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, or Muslim like me, to believe that trying to live your life in peace is worth it. That's what any rational being wants, and the Jedi Code gives advice for that in a way any human can follow. But the final line?"

I ran my hands through my hair, growling in frustration. "It just doesn't fit the same way. Death, yet the Force."

"Is it that big a deal?" Clockblocker scoffed. "Just make something up in it's place. Or ignore it."

"He might have a point." Vista agreed, lifting a pastry to chew on thoughtfully before swallowing it and speaking again. "I mean, I like the other rules. Except the passion one. What's wrong with doing your best?"

"I didn't like the chaos one actually." Clockblocker grumbled. "Didn't get it."

"It's probably a failing on my part." I admitted. "A person is supposed to meditate on each line, and gain an understanding of its place in their life."

"No, you explained it very well." Miss Militia looked between Vista and Clockblocker thoughtfully. "Especially the second one. Very relevant in this case."

"Hey!" The pair of minors said in unison.

As Miss Militia smirked at the two, I dialed up my resistance level once more.

 ** _March 5th, 2011_**

In a dressing room in the PRT Base, Britney the PR Lady was doing some changes to my armor.

Britney clipped on the final piece, then stepped back from me. She bite her lip, cocked her head, and then stepped forward to make adjustment. "Good. Try doing one of your karate moves?"

At her request, I went into motion, kicking and punching as fast and furiously as possible. I stopped after a second, and looked down.

I now wore a green flowing, robe type thing that ended just below my knees and was attached to a thick black belt with a yellow buckle at my waist. My wrists and forearms were wrapped in green cloth bands the same color as the robe thing. My combat boots were mostly the same, but looked a bit more armored, with the same rigid yellow sections of plate on my stomach and pauldrons now wrapped around the toe of my boots.

"I like it." Was my final decision. "Weren't you going to add more stuff before?"

"Simple is best when it comes to superhero outfits." Britney explained. "We don't want to weigh you down with a bunch of useless toy's you'll never use after all."

I nodded at that, pleased over all with my new costume additions. "Thanks Britney."

"You're welcome!" She chirped happily. "Oh, one more thing!" She left the room as I admired the costume, only to come back a few minutes later with something in her hands. A box. When she opened it, I stared at the item within. "You like it? I asked Armsmaster to keep it a surprise!"

As she beamed, I took the item within the box into my hands. "…Orange."

Somethings are universal I guess.

 ** _Still March 5th, 2011_**

Armsmaster spun his staff around and slashed out at me. I blocked with my own, gritting my teeth as his natural strength and my resistance armor forced me to hold tighter to the wooden staff in my hands. Armsmaster suddenly pulled back. I stumbled, just a bit.

My feet were sweeped out from under me by a kick. As I floated there for a moment, his staff followed up with a smack to my head. It didn't hurt physically, as the resistance armor didn't remove my durability. But the fact I even _got_ hit was embarrassing.

"Switch!"

Miss Militia's voice was followed by Armsmaster kicking me into a roll. I leaped aside on instinct.

A bullet destroyed the spot where my leg had been. The sound of the shot followed.

More shots followed me as I ran. While my body couldn't move at super-speed, my eyes and mind could. I quickly tracked the direction of the shots, then took off in that direction.

"Vista!"

The open terrain between myself and Miss Militia suddenly became an obstacle course. Distances lengthened. The high ceiling dropped a point lower than my knees in places, while the floor rose into walls higher than me.

No stopping.

"Parkour!" I crowed as I leaped over one wall before sliding under another.

More bullets flew past my head, forcing me to dodge around them.

"Velocity!" Miss Militia called again.

I couldn't move to counter him, but I saw him coming. As I leaped over another wall, the speedster came around one of Vista's obstacles and grabbed my leg, pulling me along.

But while my body couldn't react, I could still speak.

"Battery!" I squeaked out.

The red blur that had a hold of my leg suddenly clashed with a green one. The two spun around each, chuckles and banter only I and they could understand leaving the tornado of speed they became as they fought.

I rolled as I hit the ground, smashing through a pice of ceiling that had been manipulated to take a space in front of me. While concrete flew around me, Glory Girl and Clockblocker were fighting Gallant and Aegis.

Aegis slammed a fist into Glory Girl, only to get another in return.

"Hitting a lady, really?" Glory Girl said with a laugh as she flew forward to hit him again.

"I'm very progressive in how I kick ass." Aegis returned, smiling slightly. He dodged her, leaping into the air.

Clockblocker was forced on the defensive by Gallant, forced to erect barriers of time frozen rocks and dust to keep the other team hemmed in as Gallant launched beams of emotion at him.

"Dude, just let me touch you!" Clockblocker yelled in annoyance, freezing a cement block into place to block a red beam of light.

"I'm gonna make you feel things you never thought you could!" Gallant yelled back as he unleashed more power.

I ran past the group (Did Clockblocker and Gallant realize how they sounded?), only to have Armsmaster step in to intercept me. Still holding the staff in my hand, I blocked his attack, countering in a quick disarm. He slipped away, but that still forced him back a step.

Right into my trap.

A metal stick gently tapped his bare chin. Armsmaster blinked, then looked at the holder of the stick.

"Um… buzz?" Panacea said hesitantly.

"Excellent sneak attack." Armsmaster commented calmly. "Attacking my bare chin was also smart. However my armor is hardened against taser shocks. I wouldn't be down for long."

"Oh." Panacea blinked. "Well, I just wanted to make an opening."

"So did I."

As he said that, Dauntless attacked her. He announced his attack by swinging his own staff at her.

"Eek!" In a move that made me grin in fierce pride, Panacea spun her new taser baton around to intercept the wooden staff. She parried rather than blocked, as Dauntless was much stronger than her.

"Good job!" Dauntless said with a smile.

"Liftoff."

"What?" That was all Dauntless had time to say before I grabbed him by his shirt and threw him at Triumph, who had joined Gallant in attacking Clockblocker.

"Aaaaaaand," I mumbled as I watched Dauntless fly. Then he crashed into Truimph with relatively soft force. "Houston, we have landing."

"Focus." Armsmaster said, smacking me in the ear with his staff. Apparently he felt the time he'd stood still was fair enough, and so was back in the fight.

"Eep." Panacea swung at him, only for him to block. She lashed out with a low kick, which he stepped away from. Then I stepped in, twirling the staff in my hands like he'd taught me.

Together, me and Panacea took on the bearded tinker. Wood and metal clashed again and again, the three of us moving as fast as we could. Panacea was leagues below us in ability and power, but she was a great distraction, and her training let he hang in ther for a while. I'd made sure to give her all the aikido training I could, and using swords and swordlike objects was a massive part of the martial art.

Armsmaster was a beast though. Efficient. If there was anything I learned from my training with him, it was efficiency. There were no flourishes in his style. No art. Just the brutal calculus of war. It made him a great opponent, because while he did have a rhythm to his combat, it had no arrogance to it, no attempt to show off. Oddly enough, for a man with so much pride, his actual fighting style could be seen as the antithesis to that pride. Just doing the job, and doing it right.

Finally though, my powers let me work around that style. I felt the resistance in my armor lessen. Just a bit.

Enough that I lashed out with more than normal strength and shattered both my staff and his when the slammed into each other.

We all stopped, surprised.

"Uh, one sec." I reached for my wrist, lifting the green cloth now wrapped over the dial/bulge on my arm, and raised the resistance level again.

"Do you ever take that off?" Panacea asked.

"When I sleep, shower, and meditate, you know that." I sighed. Then I smirked. "Also…"

BRRING!

Every superhero in the room stopped.

" **What happened!?"** Triumph coughed, stroking his throat as his powerful voice echoed in our ears briefly. "What happened?"

"We won." Battery announced. She was grinning as she strode over, despite limping slightly as she moved. Velocity followed, grinning himself.

"Oh come on, really?" Dauntless watched as the dimensions of the room snapped back into place. Clockblockers various barriers still floated all over the room, giving it the feel of a place stuck in time as rocks, papers, and debris floated all around. "How?"

"I punched Assault." I answered. Everyone glanced at me.

"Me too!" Glory Girl said proudly. Everyone looked over at her.

"Wait, you mean if I was on their team I could have punched Assault!?" We looked over to see Miss Militia walk over, a mock annoyed look on her face. Vista followed her, looking rather cheerful despite her loss.

"Yeah, with no repercussions too." Assault was grinning widely as he spun the prize in question on his finger. "And so, the great warriors obtain the **coveted** … scrunchie."

He held out the hair ornament, a hot pink number.

"Hn." Armsmaster shook his head, looking more annoyed then I'd ever seen him. "You used Gohan and Glory Girl to distract us, while Assault and Battery snuck in under Vista's Obstacle Course."

"Worked like a charm." Battery nodded when Panacea asked her for her permission to heal her, sighing in relief as my padawan did so. "We knew Vista was your best chance to hold the two titans back, so we used her powers to our advantage. I had to step in to head off Velocity, but—"

"Well done." Armsmaster interrupted. He stroked his beard, not noticing the annoyed glare Battery gave him for his rudeness. "These sessions have turned out better than I expected. I'm already seeing improvements in several of you." He eyed Dauntless, Clockblocker, Panacea, and me. "Hn. I'll call in Kid Win, and we can switch teams for another round."

"Okay." Miss Militia looked over the group. "How about this time, we try for a more chaotic one? We split into four teams, with each having a different target in mind. Each team will…"

After team training was done and the others left the room, I took advantage of the now empty room to fulfill a request.

Panacea sat before me in the lotus position, her knees against mine as we breathed. Glory Girl sat next to her, moving slightly.

"Calm." I said softly, focusing my ki as I breathed, reaching out into the world around me with that energy.

"I'm _trying_." Glory Girl growled. She tried to focus deeper.

"Do, or do not."

"Sensei, you really need to tone it down with the Star Wars."

"Blasphemy."

My student chuckled.

Glory Girl calmed for moment. Then…

"Sensei?"

My own focus wavered. I breathed deeply, diving once more into the state of anger and calm that had become my meditative state. I spoke slowly, making sure not to open my eyes and see Panacea's smirk.

"It's her little joke. I showed her bunch of anime a while back, and she decided to call me sensei. It's a respectful term that can have a lot of meanings, though the common one—"

"Is teacher, I know." Glory Girl sounded amused. "Anime huh?"

"He's a nerd." Panacea said, her calm clearly shattered as she giggled.

"I am. And so any rational being is. I thought you really wanted to do this Glory Girl?"

"Oh, I do." She said with a shrug. "I just got distracted. How often do you guys meditate?"

"Every day." Panacea answered. "So that we can learn to control the energy within us, gain focus, rest, and reflect on our lives."

"Just like any other person who meditates really." I smiled. "Though when we do it, it's for way cooler reasons."

"Flying you mean?" Glory Girl sounded suspicious. "Do you really think it'll work? That sounds a bit crazy."

I didn't open my eyes. "Amy, you didn't show her yet."

It wasn't a question.

"Not yet." I heard cloth shift as she looked between me and her sister. "You think I should?"

"As long as you're doing it without coercion. Remember, your powers…"

"Are mine, and no one can force me to use them if it doesn't feel right."

I'd started hammering that into her from the start. As it was, I was pretty sure she went out to the hospital a time or two when she should have been sleeping. But it seemed less of a compulsion now, if only a bit.

"Okay, I'll try." Her voice was pensive, excited. I opened my eyes.

Panacea, still wearing her costume, had her hands cupped before her, eyes shut as she focused. Her face was serene, and there was a hint of piece about her. As I watched, her eye twitched for a moment, then calmed.

I cupped my own hands before me, mimicking the actions I knew she was taking. Gathering my ki, feeling the flow of it through my veins. Then, slowly…

Two balls of light came alive in our hands.

"Whoa." Glory Girl said. "Amy, you're really doing it!"

Panacea's ball dimmed slightly, then calmed. "Vicky, it's hard to focus this."

"Oh, right." Glory Girl whispered. "Sorry." Then she looked between balls. "Why are they different colors?"

I had no idea. My ki tended to look like ki, which meant my ball of it was a blue that was almost white. Panacea's was more a deep forest green. My working theory was that it was due to her shard.

"We're different people. Of course our energies will be different." Was the reason I gave Glory Girl.

"And why's yours so much smaller?" She smirked at me. "Performance issues?"

I smirked. "No. I can make it bigger, but I'm controlling it. Like the difference between a grenade and shaped charge." To demonstrate, I let the ball grow and shrink. "My goal is learn control. I get more ki just by doing pushups and workouts with Bill. Control is what I need."

"Hold," Panacea winced. "Wait, I think I…" She breathed deeply.

Slowly, she began to move. At first I thought she was getting up. Then, as I realized what was happening, an excited grin began to grow on my face. Until I realized what it meant.

Then I closed my eyes and focused myself as well. I'd been holding off on it, but if _she_ could do it…

Damnit all, I wasn't letting my student upstage me!

"Holeee…" Glory Girl mumbled. I pressed my ki in around me, like a second skin. Then I moved that ki, my long hours of meditation allowing me to control it. I kept it up, using my elation from the lifting sensation I felt as fuel rather than letting it distract me. Bit by bit, I rose. Panacea and I.

Whatever annoyance I felt at Panacea almost beating me to it was evaporated under the fierce pride I felt in her. _My_ student. Rising along with me.

Fueled by our ki, we rose up as one. Panacea opened her eyes at the same time as me. She sank for a second, then caught herself.

"Steady." I warned. "Your emotions are fuel, not distractions. Feel them, and let them power this."

"Y-Yes sensei!" Her usual sarcasm on the 'sensei' was gone, replaced by nervousness. She focused, hovering slowly upwards as she sat on nothing.

Soon we were about three feet off the ground.

"Flying." I realized my cheeks hurt from how big my smile had gotten. "We can fly Amy."

"That's awesome!" Glory Girl rose off the ground herself, floating around us with far more ease than we could.

"Heh!" Panacea smiled back at me. I'd never felt so proud in my life.

 ** _March 6th, 2011_**

Iron clanked all around in the gym, and the sounds of exertion echoed around us.

"Hard to believe." Bill said as he watched me squat with the large weights on my shoulder. "I wonder what this will do to your mover rating."

"Probably nothing for now." I puffed out. "It's just hovering."

"Yeah, but it'll get even faster soon." Assault was dressed in his usual mask, but went for a workout outfit this time. He had was doing pull-ups on a bar attached to a wall by massive screws.

"Not to mention we now have confirmed evidence that you can train other Parahumans to mimic the same powers you use." Bill said. "That's a trump rating. Between you and Kid Win, big things are happening around here."

"What's up with the Kid?" Assault asked.

"Well, his specialty is pretty powerful. Historically, tinkers who specialize in broad ways tend to be very good at what they do. Armsmaster is a good example of that. Thanks to miniaturization, he can make equipment that doesn't take up space, letting him carry massive armory's at little to no cost for himself."

Bill dropped the four hundred pounds he'd been repping on the rack nearby, his blue tank top looking a little stretched under his massive muscles. "Kid Win's powers have incredible synergy with that. Now, not only can they create small technology, they can create it to have dozens of applications. Combine that with Dragon's aptitude for tinker tech—"

"Yeah, they'll turn out to be pretty badass." Assault nodded. He dropped onto the ground, then removed his shirt. He grinned at the sight of his own abs in the massive mirror nearby. "Oh man, it has to be illegal to look this good." He said as he flexed.

"A misdemeanor maybe." I said with a chuckle. "I doubt much more illegal than that."

"Your jealousy is an ugly thing, Gohan." Assault said.

"Considering how handsome, intelligent, and all-around amazing I am, I'm not sure what you think I'm jealous of." I grinned at him. "Besides, with just the mask and pants on, you look like a bondage porn star."

"Not my fault none of us parahumans are allowed to take them off in here." He grumbled. "It gets hot. Speaking of clothes, have you taken off that armor since you got it? It's all I see you wear anymore."

A bit hypocritical of him. I'd never seen any of my fellow superhumans in the Protectorate or Wards in anything but their costumes. Granted, I was the only one who really lived on-site besides Armsmaster, so it made sense that they would show up in their 'work clothes'. But the fact none of them had really trusted me with their identity yet was beginning to hurt.

Granted, I already _knew_ their identities, but it was the principle of the thing.

I pushed that aside. "I'm still trying to get stronger, and just wearing this thing for day to day things makes things a workout. I'm already way stronger after a few days."

"So you don't take it off then." Assault said.

"Nah, I make sure to do it a few times a day." I did one more squat, legs burning with a deep heat as I slowly lifted the weight off my shoulder and placed it on the ground. "I don't want to end up in a situation where I need to remove the restraints only to find out I can't control my power. I take at least two hours a day to do katas without the suit on."

"Hmm." Bill hummed.

"Huh." Assault looked at the boxing ring nearby. Then he looked at me. "So how about it? Want to show me how you do without the armor holding you back?"

I blinked. Then I grinned.

"What in the hell did you two do to each other?" Battery asked us. It was after our spar, and Assault and I were sitting in medbay, our costumes resting on . He'd broken by arm by redirecting one of my kicks, given me a black eye in retaliation for the one I'd given him, and bruised me all over. In return, I'd sent him flying with a barrage of ki blasts, and ended the fight by breaking his leg.

We both turned from where we'd been joking on our beds to look over at Battery. Miss Militia was standing next to her, with Armsmaster following.

"Sup!" I waved at them happily.

"Hey puppy!" Assault said brightly.

"A broken leg!?" Battery strode over, looking apocalyptic. "Because of a spar!?"

"I know right? Gohan was going easy on me."

"Not that easy." I grumbled. The experienced hero was _really_ good at redirecting kinetic energy.

"Damnit all Et—" She stopped, looking over at me. "Assault. You should have—"

A pair of lips stopped her once she'd come close enough. She stood for a moment, letting it happen. When Assault backed away, he gave her a content smile. "You're gorgeous when you get pissed off."

"Asshole." She returned, blushing prettily.

Miss Militia walked over to me, anger flashing in her own eyes.

"Yell at me, and I'll do the same thing." I looked pointedly at her lips, then at Assault and Battery.

"Do it and I'll shoot your lips off." Miss Militia said.

"Kinky." At my response, I saw a flash a humor underneath the anger and worry.

"You two." Armsmaster got our attention. He stood with arms crossed over his massive chest, glowering at us. "Report. How did this happen?"

"A light spar that went a bit far sir." I said, back straightening. "Won't happen again. Assault wanted to make sure I had full control when my armor's restraints were off."

"Hm?" Armsmaster uncrossed his arms. "And? How did it go?"

"Better than expected." I answered. "I'm much faster and stronger than before sir, and my ki blasts were also stronger for some reason."

"Really?" The armored hero stroked his beard. "Interesting. So Ki really is tied to the physical state of your body. I wonder if—"

Miss Militia coughed loudly. When Armsmaster looked at her, she rolled her eyes pointedly.

"Oh, yes." He gave us a gruff look. "No more fighting while answering questions about the state of energy and matter in our universe." Seemingly satisfied he'd done his job, he spun on his heel and began to walk out, ignoring the gaping look Miss Militia gave him while activating his comm. "Dragon, can you pull up file K-13? I may have an answer to—"

The door cut him off, leaving us in the room.

"…No more breaking each other's bones." Miss Militia finally said.

"Yes ma'am." The pair of us said in unison.

 ** _March 7th, 2011_**

I was nervous. My costume felt a bit tight, and it wasn't because of the restraint system since I'd turned that off (I tended to be a lot more graceful with it off, and today was about appearences). And it wasn't the accessory on my head, which I'd had repainted a green that matched my waist robe and armbands.

Looking out of the curtains, I could see a small group of reporters, maybe ten to fifteen. There were others, bloggers and the curious at a guess, who had cell phones out.

"You okay?" Britney asked.

I looked over at her. She smiled gently at me, looking cute as a button in her white blouse and black business suit.

"Yeah, just nerves. I can deal though." I looked at Armsmaster, who was holding his halberd in one hand. The weapon he'd made for me was resting on the wall beside him. "How about you fearless leader? Nervous?"

He gave me a grim look.

"Yeah, didn't think so."

"We are in a war against the sort of people who give serial killers nightmares." He moved his halberd from one hand to the other, the lethal edge shining brightly in the light. "A group of reporters are nothing to be nervous about. Just remember that, answer the questions like you were told, and we'll be fine."

On stage behind a podium, Piggot finished her speech.

"Okay, good luck!" Britney gave me a friendly peck on the cheek, then pushed me out from behind the curtain. I let her slim arms guide me out and strode forward. Armsmaster followed.

The flash of lights that indicated cameras taking pictures was something I'd usually seen on tv and movies, not directed at me. Piggot stepped away from the podium, giving me a grave nod that I returned. The microphone had to be adjusted for my height, which super-speed let me do in second, and I was ready.

"Sup." I waved as I gave my customary greeting. "I'm Sun Wukong, and I'm the newest member of the Protectorate."

As a few more camera flashed a sudden realization filled me.

I'm a superhero in Worm. Officially, as of the moment I'd stepped up and given my super-obvious code name...

Is it possible to feel both elated and screwed over?

 _ **Author's Note: Hope that was good for you guys. Next chapter is the rest of the press conference before a famous Worm event that took place in March goes down.**_

 _ **In other news, in an attempt to start making real money I've started work on an original fic. I'ts about a half-orc named Char, a young man raised by a blacksmith in a city with a hatred of hybrids and a deeper hatred of orcs. The idea is to play around with a lot of old school fantasy tropes while putting my own spin of the traditions of magic, science, and blacksmithing, with a character I really in Char. I have my research collected and the first chapter written up, so I hope you guys will take a look and tell me what you think when I put it up on this site. It'll go up at the same time as the next chapter of this story. Please support the story when it comes out to help me with my expenses.**_


	16. Chapter 16

_**March 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2011**_

"I believe Director Piggot gave a brief description of my powers and stuff, so we won't go into that," I said as firmly as I could. I made sure to focus on meeting the eyes of the crowd, looking at the camera's as well, kept my body straight and relaxed, avoided using speech replacements like 'uh' and 'um', and used very small hand movements.

Thank you, speech class. Boom. Also thank you, super-speed, for giving me relative hours to think about what I wanted to say in the beat of a heart. And finally, thank you Armsmaster, for spending fifteen minutes lecturing me on how to respond without embarrassing myself. Which was both dickish and nice of him.

"I understand if there are some questions of course, so I'm willing to take any you guys want to ask."

Hands rose up, though in a far more restrained manner then media had led me to expect. I pointed at one woman, slightly overweight with almond shaped eyes.

"Asuka Kurasaki, Brockton News Network." She said. For some reason she sounded annoyed at me. Scratch that, Body-Read said the she was very annoyed, with both me and something she had seen before. "I was curious as to the symbol on the left side of your chest."

I looked at it, then smiled. "Oh yeah, the Kanji for turtle."

She blinked. "You choose it on purpose?"

"Yeah." I pointed at it. "Turtle." Then the Kanji on the other side. "Monkey. Both animals represent something to me, so I choose to display them."

"Ah." Now that I'd proved I wasn't some teen simply putting cool symbols on things without thinking about their meanings, she seemed less angry.

As the friend of a man who'd once had the kanji for 'chicken shit' tattooed on his back, I understood where she was coming from.

"Then in that case, may I ask why you choose them?" She asked.

"Sure thing. Well, Director Piggot gave you the rundown on how my powers work, but in case anyone missed it, I'm supposed to be the ultimate martial artist, or at least have the potential for it. Which means that, like any martial artist, I'd like to pass on whatever I learn. Because of this, I chose these Kanji."

Bullshit following.

"Turtle is supposed to represent defense and longevity. Being able to withstand powerful blows, and surviving longer than an opponent. Monkey is intelligence, adaptability, and acrobatics. It also represents the more primal side deep in all fighters."

In actuality, I was showing my respect to Roshi and Goku in my own way. But hell if I'd explain that.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Wukong."

"Sun, please," I grinned at the woman as she sat, then looked over the audience. "Next question?"

I pointed at a very large man who seemed to be grinning like a loon. He giggled he rose. "WHY IS YOUR MEAT BICYCLE SO SHINY!?"

I blinked. "Uh, I use bleach. Wait, that not a real question."

"Security!" Piggot barked.

The big guy ran for it, followed by some of the rent-a-cops brought in for the event. Slightly amused, I continued by pointing at someone with a shirt displaying a blue armored soldier.

Chuckling a bit, he composed himself to ask his question. "Yes, I was wondering what your motivations and aspirations as a hero are?"

I nodded slowly. "Well, I want to help people. Make people safe if I can. But my aspiration is to be the strongest hero on the planet," A little mummer came over the crowd. "Yeah, sort of impossible, but I was always told the best way to do a job is to set an impossible goal, and go for it with all you've got. So my goal is to save everyone, and become the best. And if I only end up saving a lot of people and becoming one of the strongest, I'll be happy as long as I've tried my best."

The next person I pointed at, a large man with dark hair, rose up. "John Minnow, Daily Blast. Days ago, an unknown hero was seen alongside Assault and Battery fighting the Empire 88 and Azian Bad Boys. Was that you, and, if it was, are you worried about retaliation from the Empire for your role in arresting Stormtiger?"

I blinked. "Huh, awkward. Okay, yeah, that was me." A bit of noise rose with that. "It was just a simple patrol to get me used to the way the Protectorate work, and we were the closest ones to the zone when things went down. As to your second question, no, I'm not worried. I'm an Arab man, wearing Japanese kanji, in Brockton Bay. If my skin color alone makes me their enemy, I really don't give a damn what their opinion of me treating their precious wanna-be ubermen like piñatas is. Screw 'em."

Some laughter broke out at that. Armsmaster sighed, and Piggot rubbed the bridge of her nose out of the corner of my eye.

Heh. Still got it.

"Okay, who's up next?" I pointed at a tall blonde woman in the front row, who had a very stylish dress on.

"Jen Anderson, Fashion Weekly." She said primly, not rising from her seat. "I was wondering who designed your costume, it's very… interesting. Were they new at costume design?"

I got the feeling she meant interesting as horrendous. Well, Britney made my costume, I liked it, and damn it I liked Britney too.

"Oh yeah, it's great right?" I smiled at her, making sure to show far too many teeth as I did. "It was made so that when people subtly insult my designer I'd be able to beat them with full range of movement."

She blinked, all pompousness gone. "I, wait, wha—?"

"Speaking of designers," I said, skipping over her fearful stuttering. "There's a designer named Parian in Brockton who does fantastic work. She's a rogue cape, and makes some of the best damn costume I've ever seen. As for mine, it was made by Kid Win, Armsmaster, and Britney Croft, and I love it. Next question."

There was a bit of hesitance. Apparently threatening to hurt a random catty woman had frightened people a bit. Who knew? Finally though, a man in glasses raised his hand.

"James Potter, Profit Daily. You said you wanted to save as many people as possible. Does that mean you hope to make an impact on the crime in Brockton when other heroes have failed?"

Armsmaster growled. I frowned. "Sir, I'd like to note that is disrespectful of heroes in this city. Lots of people have had their lives saved by them, and many have given their lives for a cause many have given up on," The man nodded respectfully. "As to the question in general, I hope to make an impact. I promise I will put forth an effort to do so. I cannot predict the future, but I will put all my strength into the effort," I smirked. "And I have a lot of strength."

The man chuckled, as did a few audience members. A short stocky black man raised his hand next. When I pointed at him, he struggled to his feet.

"Jim Urich, I run a blog." The balding older man's deep voice seemed to rumble in the room. "You were correct earlier, Director Piggot did describe your abilities, but how do you powers differ from those of similar capes? Your speed compared to Velocity's, or Glory Girl's strength compared to yours for example?"

"Well, I'm not as fast as Velocity, but I can still effect the world around me at the same level no matter how fast I'm moving," I explained. "And then, Vicky and I are about the same strength now, and we tend to spar each other a lot to prove that."

"Uh, excuse me?" A kid with more pimples than skin raised his hand high. Humoring him, I gestured for him to speak. "You fight Glory Girl? Are you still mad at her cause she punched you at the parking lot?"

"Nah," I scoffed. "No, we just do a bit of harmless sparring is all. I do it with everyone. The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle, right?"

A man with slicked back hair was the next person I pointed at. "James Jones, The Deposition. What are you opinions of Japan's current refugee problem?"

"What," I looked over at Armsmaster and Piggot, who both seemed annoyed, then looked back at the smarmy man. "Why would you think I was qualified to answer that? What relevance does that have?"

He smirked, the way a shark does when it sights a seal. "I assumed that, due to your use of a Japanese Folklore character and kanji, you might have some interest in the regions politics. Or did you choose those things to look cool? Are you possibly harboring ties to the ABB?"

I almost killed him right there. It would have been easy. My ki blasts had gotten more controlled, but they were still fantastic for destruction.

Holding back my urge to kill him, I took a deep breath. "First, I did not choose a Japanese folklore character, but a Chinese one. Son Goku is the Japanese name of Son Wukong. Second, I choose these symbols and that name as a sign of respect to a martial arts tradition stretching back centuries, with legends and facts so ancient that most cultures can't compare. I am not Asian, and I am not trying to be. I only know that however strong I am, it is on the back of a giant that is thousands of years old. And finally, no, I'm not affiliated with the ABB. I'm as likely to punch Lung in the face as I am Kaiser."

He smirked again, opening his mouth. "Can you explain—?"

"Mate, did you raise your hand?" I asked briskly.

He blinked. "Well, no, I—"

"In that case, sit down. You've already accused me of being a gang member, let someone else take a shot." As laughter echoed briefly in the room, he petulantly sat down. "Okay, uh… You, with the braided hair."

A girl with skin the same color as mine smiled. "Yes, I was wondering what your stance is on each gang in the city?"

Huh. Good question. "I don't like them, which is one of many reasons why decided to be a superhero. That and the free food." Everyone laughed, not knowing how serious I was. "In my mind, if you have a business which is dedicated to hurting people who have never done anything wrong to you, you deserve a punch in the face and a jury of your peers. Merchants, ABB, or Empire, even guys like Uber and Leet. If they've hurt people for no reason, racist reasons, or dumb reasons, I really don't like them."

A few people cheered, which made me feel good. One or two had body language displaying anger. I marked them in my mind as I pointed at someone else.

This one, another reporter lady, smiled politely. "Amy Draper, Brockton Gazette. I actually had a few questions related to general superhero topics."

"Cool, shoot."

"Well, what is life like in the PRT? Do you get paranoid about getting outed as a cape when you're out of costume? How dangerous do patrols get?"

I waited a bit to make sure that was all she had to ask before answering. "Well, life in the PRT is cool. Most of the superheroes have been really nice, though Shadow Stalker is kind of mean for some reason. Then again, she has inadequacy issues, since her power is made for nothing but running and hiding," I ignored the sound of Armsmaster grunting in annoyance behind me. "Just a joke of course. Anyways, my day to day life is basically working out, hanging out with the others, and eating. I eat a lot."

Another chuckle spread. "As for the second question, I personally don't get paranoid, but I can see why others do. All of my friends are superheroes, so someone finding out my identity isn't a big deal. I don't have a personal life that would take a huge hit from my identity being found out. That said, I'd like to get married and have kids one day. At that point, yeah, I'd probably be paranoid. But as I am now, I'm okay. And for the last question, considering my last and only patrol ended in a massive gang war, I'd say that patrols can get pretty damn dangerous. But it's why we do them, so other people won't get hurt."

The redhead nodded, writing down on her notepad. She looked up to give me a smile, which I returned before looking at the rest of the room.

A bald man was up next. He adjusted his glasses as he rose. "You mentioned that you have no real paranoia about being outed. Does that mean you support the New Wave movement? You apparently spend a lot of time with Glory Girl." He smiled slightly. "And you did spend a lot of your time out of costume in that infamous parking lot battle."

Me and the rest of the room nodded. "Well, I can't say I don't see the reasons for it. A lot of people do like the fact that New Waves policy means they know who to go to when they have questions. They're a face that can be trusted, because you know exactly who they are," I sighed sadly. "But there is also the danger. If I could guarantee that everyone I cared about was safe, I would have no issue with outing capes as a whole. But there are psychopaths in the world, people who will kill a hero simply for being a hero. There is a reason why capes the world over are so protective over the 'unwritten rules'.

"Superheroes live on an odd line. They are celebrities, rescue personal, police forces, and on the worst days, military forces. If they had to release their identities, then they would never truly be safe. They would always have someone out there ready to attack them.

A thought struck me. I glowered at the cameras. "That said, if anyone comes near Amy or Vicky, I will make damn sure you live to regret touching my friends."

I pointed at a random person, not paying attention to whatever reaction I'd caused. The person, a young college age girl, stared at me.

"Are you single?"

"What?" I stared at the pretty young woman, dumbfounded. Laughter filled the room, and she blushed. "Uh, yes, I am. No time for a relationship right now in my life," Armsmaster nodded in approval when I flickered my eyes over to him. With a moment of pity for Dragon, I turned back to the audience. "I uh, next question? You, with the hat."

The man in question, a tall massively muscular dude, grinned as he rose up. "Yeah, I was just wondering what your workout is? I mean, you're a brute right? But since you can get stronger, how does your workout go?"

"Well, I do weightlifting, heavy cardio, as sparring as I can get in with a bunch of people. Armsmaster is teaching me how to use polearms so I can incorporate them into my style. But I try to vary my workouts a lot. Doing the same exact one over and over again, or ignoring one muscle in favor of the others, can tend to be bad for someone who is the workout to fight. I also try to workout as much as I eat."

"How much is that?" The muscle dude asked.

"Uh, about as much as an elephant?" I looked over at Piggot. She nodded, looking annoyed. "Yeah, as much as an elephant. Lots of protein, carbs, and fats. Workout, eat, and sleep, all in balance, and that's how I do things."

I looked over the room again, then frowned when I saw the lady who'd made fun of my costume, Jen whatever, raising a hand sheepishly. I humored her.

"Ah, thank you. I was wondering, you had a tail in old footage, so where did it go? Are you a Case 53?"

"Yeah!" One guy added. "The director said you're new Brockton Bay, is that why!?"

"Uh, no, I am not a Case 53," I said. "I remember my life. I just came to Brocton Bay because of something painful in my old life," Namely a giant rock from Simurgh landing on me. "That said, I have a lot of respect for Case 53's, and I'm actually a big fan of Weld. He's got a real heart of gold."

The room stared at me. Then the room groaned at my terrible pun. "Sorry, sorry. Okay, the blonde guy in the suit.

He lowered his hand, but didn't rise. He had one leg draped over the other, and seemed confident of something. "Was the country you lived in before a particularly dangerous one?"

I frowned. "I'm not an immigrant actually. I was born and raised in this country."

"Do you have papers proving that?" He arched an eyebrow. "It would be a real comfort to know the latest superhero is a true American, rather than an illegal."

"Other than my birth certificate, no." Huh, must be Trump's analogue. "I was born in Cali, dude. Hell, I wouldn't even lie about it if I was an immigrant. This country was made by people immigrating, I'm not going to hate on people for that."

"Even illegal or mass immigration?" He asked pointedly.

I scoffed. "What are you asking me, if we should close the borders? Oy." Yeah, I knew where this was going. All you need is a look at the internet to know how circuitous this damn argument could get.

"Next question, before my brains leak out of my ears." I didn't look back at the man, just pointing at a young black man with thick glasses.

"Yeah, I was wondering? You can copy powers? How does that work? You just need to see someone use a power and you can do it too? Can you copy Legend or Vista's powers? Or Battery's charge up thing?"

"Eh, yes and no. My real power is that I can mimic movements to learn the fighting styles of others. So if a superhero makes a movement that I can follow, I can copy it. But I won't be able to shift space like Vista because her powers use some function that I can't mimic. I probably couldn't copy Brandish's light form either, because my body isn't built for that. It's very subjective. In the end, I mostly use it to learn martial arts and CQC forms," I pointed again, now getting into a rhythm.

"Why Brockton? Word has it that you are new here, and aren't a Protectorate transfer, and I think the question on everyone's mind is why our town rather than anywhere else?" The person this time, a professional looking woman standing next to a cameraman, asked.

"It's where I ended up stopping, and I liked it." I smiled. "Because you were nice to me. People out here helped me out, and that solidified the decision for me I guess."

"And did you have any plans to stay in Brockton for a while?" She asked. "There have been rumours that plans to transfer you to Boston are in the works."

Piggot snapped her head up, glaring suspiciously. I filed that away for later.

"Rumors before I even became a hero?" I chuckled. "That must be a record," There was a brief laugh from the others in the room. "No, I plan to live here for a long time. Anyone else?"

"Yes, I was wondering… Oh right!" The person who'd spoke without waiting, a large girl in the front and to the right, rasied her hand. She blushed when everyone laughed, and I pointed at her with a chuckle. She lowered her hand excitedly. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask... what do you think about Brockton Bay cuisine? Any favorite places in town?"

"The PRT Cafeteria is pretty good." Laughter. "There's this buffet I went to once, that was awesome. I haven't been able to go around town as much as I want to," I flicked my eyes at Piggot. "But I did spend some time on the beaches. And some of the views from the city rooftops are great."

The rest of the questions came fast and furious.

"Coke or Pepsi?"

"Neither, they both taste like malted battery acid. I prefer ice cream milkshakes."

"Boxers or Briefs?"

"Either, as long as they're comfortable."

"How do I forge-weld metal?"

"Well, one thing that will help is to use Borox, the same chemical used to kill rats. It acts as an oxygen barrier, and smooths over the process. I suggest speaking to a skilled blacksmith however, and keeping the chemicals away from children. Next question?"

"That reminded me a lot of a fan convention I went to once." I said after a few more questions. "Including the dumb questions that had nothing to do with the business at hand."

"It's necessary," Piggot replied, turning to look at me after we'd stepped behind the curtain. "You stuck with the script for the most part. I'll put the deviations to the fact you're, well, you."

I cocked my head, confused. "Uh… thanks?"

"You did great," Britney smiled at me as she walked up, bright as a beam of sunshine. "People are going to love you! And hate you."

"What is this, backhanded compliment day?" I looked between the two.

"It doesn't matter in the end," Armsmaster stepped ahead of us. "Come on. Let's start training. The best way to deal with the public is to give them no reason to disparage you."

I didn't really listen though. The second he said 'training', I was already giddy with excitement.

And so I completely forgot about the questions, and focused on what we would do when we got home.

Armsmaster's method of training was efficient. Unlike what the fan theories I'd seen suggested, this did not mean that he used the same methods to teach every time. Instead, he worked his method towards the person, focused on tailoring the lesson in a way that would make the target learn with optimum speed. It was an oddly selfless method, though it could have been that he just wanted whoever he was teaching to go away as soon as possible.

For me, Armsmaster had a two step program. First, he'd show me himself fighting, either clips of his battles or displays. Then he would fight me.

Today I was fighting him, with Vista and Miss Militia watching.

In the stone gym that had become my second home, the steady 'clack, clack, clack' of wood hitting wood filled the air. I sweated heavily as I blocked another attack, spinning my staff to counter. Armsmaster moved out of the way, my armor slowing me down enough to make it easy.

"You're getting stronger," He noted.

"Isn't that the point of this?" I replied, defending myself once more. "It's frustrating being this slow though. My eyes can see you easily enough, but my body can't catch up."

"Hn," He swung the 'blade' end of his staff at me, which I blocked. "That reminds me. I've been developing a new system for predicting combat patterns in opponents. I wanted your input on that."

"Sure," Our staffs met once more, and I heard Miss Militia speaking to Vista about something in the background.

The day was looking to be pretty routine. Training, grab a bite to eat, maybe watch the original Gojira movie (Clockblocker had found me a copy) hang out with Panacea for a bit, and go on my first (official) patrol. Other than that, nothing big.

"Hey!" Armsmaster and I backed away from each other to look over at the door. Assault stood there, smiling. "You and Militia are headed out!"

"Already?" Miss Militia rose, confusion that mirrored mine in her voice. "I thought we were scheduled for later."

"Yeah, late night or something," I added, walking over to Assault.

"Well Kong, apparently our favorite blonde PR girl thought it would be better to have you out during daylight. Let people see you out and about," He shrugged, apparently as confused as we were. "Piggot agreed, and told me to tell you guys."

"Makes sense I suppose," I'd removed my helmet to train with Armsmaster, placing it next to Vista. I walked over to pick it up, but then I looked at her, cocking my head. "…Can we take Vista with us?"

"What?" Miss Militia asked. Vista looked up at me, shocked at first, then overjoyed.

"Well, her powers are perfect to help you move around when you need it. Who is more useful for a long range fighter than a woman who shift space."

"No." Armsmaster frowned. "The Youth Guard would lose their minds. And Piggot wouldn't allow it either."

"Please let me go," Vista pleaded, rising from her seat. "I can do this! I've been a Ward longer than anyone else, I can help!"

"Yeah, she's a badass!" I agreed.

She'd long since impressed me with her skill. As a fan of superheroes, I could say without exaggeration that Vista was one of the most powerful kid heroes in existence. Her powers were versatile, she was smart as hell, she had the sort of combat training that would make any of the Robin's proud, and she was cute as a puppy. All things that made her one of my favorite people. I really wanted to see how well we would do working together against a real threat.

"I said no," Armsmaster growled. Me and Vista pouted as one, crossing our arms at the same time.

Miss Militia chuckled. "Sorry. Maybe next time though," She leaned down to look Vista in the eyes. "Believe me, I know you can help. But the rest of the world doesn't know that yet."

"Tell you what," Assault walked over to pat Vista's shoulder. "Let's hang out while they're out. Me and you can spar in the meantime."

Miss Militia grabbed me by the collar and gently pulled me along as I stared glumly at the ground. I floated up, letting her tug me through the air. "Come on. You'll be back before you know it. Panacea is coming by for training, no?"

I waved at Vista sadly. I'd really wanted her to come. "Amy is out with her sister patrolling. She's also practicing her flying. You know, chasing Vicky through the skies and stuff, work on her flexibility."

"I wanted to ask about that actually," She looked over at me curiously. "Could you teach me how to do that as well? Flying that is."

"…Maybe," I lowered myself to the ground, and Miss Militia let go of my collar. "We'd have to train together though, and I'd need to spend a lot of time figuring out how you work."

"Hmm," She looked over at me. Her smoky eyes narrowed as she smiled beneath her scarf. "You say that as though I would mind spending time with you," As I sputtered in shock, she turned to leave. "I'm headed to the motor pool. We'll meet outside."

Her hips swayed from side to side as she left me. I did not stare, and you're a dirty liar if you claim otherwise.

Floating high above the city streets in the afternoon sun, I could see the whole of Brockton Bay. Called the Bay by people who had lived in the city their entire lives.

It was grimy. Even hundreds of feet above the southern part of the docks, I could see the graffiti on the brick walls, smell the order of rotten garbage, and see the homeless people begging for change on the streets.

Basically like most cities I've ever been in actually.

" _Miss Militia to Sun Wukong, do you copy?"_

Tapping the side of my helmet (Which was painted the same color as Master Chief's from Halo), I slowly floated forward, keeping parallel with the ground below. "Yeah, I copy. Stop any muggers recently?"

She chuckled over the radio, the sound of her motorcycle in the background. _"No, all quiet. That is the problem with daytime patrols I find. Any excitement over your appearance?"_

I smiled and waved at a couple teenage boys taking a photo of me. They waved back, grinning. "A bit, but nothing like what you guys get. When do I get to be as popular as you guys? Tell me how to join the cool kids table."

" _Give me your lunch money first,"_ She joked. Then, a bit softer. _"I'm going to head to Crater Lake. I've heard some reports of drug dealers doing business near it. ABB and Empire have been vying over territory there."_

"I'll head over there too." I floated down. While I wanted to practice flying, I could still only crawl at a brisk walking pace through the skies. "Maybe we'll—"

A loud explosion shook the air. I blinked, surprised for a moment. My lack of concentration made me drop completely to the ground from about twenty feet up. The ground cratered under my feet with a loud 'CRACK' of noise.

" _What was that!?"_ Miss Militia asked me.

"No idea," I started running, at a normal pace due to my restraints. "Checking the police bandwidth," Another tap on a section of my armor activated the HUD. It was relatively simple, only a few sections, but it was mostly made to tell me what level my armor was at and do some basic hero things. Another few clicks guided my radio onto the police bandwidth.

"— _call in the PRT!"_ A voice screamed in panic. _"We've got Empire and Merchants on sight, capes on the ground! Send help!"_

"This is Sun Wukong, Miss Militia is also on the line," I tried to sound heroic, like how Superman does it, hoping it would calm the guy down. "Where are you?"

 _"Near a warehouse by the docks! FUCK!"_ Another explosion sounded out, both in the air and in the radio. _"Hurry!"_

I reached for my restraint control, lowering it by half. Just like that, I went from the fast pace run most healthy athletes could move at, to faster than any car on the road. I focused myself, pumping my legs as the world seemed to crawl.

Empire and Merchant capes. That meant combat. A chance truly prove myself. A chance to save people, but more importantly, to see how strong I really was.

I almost missed her. I should have. As fast as I was, she was a blip on my senses. But for some reason, even with my excitement running, even at my full speed I… I had to turn. Something, at the edge of my senses, pulled my eyes towards her.

There, on the sidewalk, wearing a backpack, glasses, and a purple hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans that were a bit too big for her, stood the girl. She was a skinny thing. Her hair, long and brown, curly as my own, flowed as she ran. Her eyes were big behind her glasses, filled with panic. And yet, her slightly too big mouth was set in determination.

I almost stopped running. She was no immense beauty like Vicky or Miss Militia. But that sense that pulled my eyes towards her seemed to twinge. I knew her.

And as I slowed down, she saw me looking at her, my jaw dropped. She gasped in slow-motion, staring at me, then panning her eyes down my costume.

Then I was gone. But I knew, for the rest of my life, that something important had just happened.

Another explosion resounded. And I rushed forth.

When I got there, a forest of metal swords were rising all over the place. The battleground was in a small courtyard surrounded in a chain-link fence. The courtyard was made up cracked concrete, and acted as the backyard to a large warehouse. The back wall of the warehouse had been destroyed somehow, and chain-link fence had broken in several places to be replace by walls of metal spikes. A police car had been turned over, and a thin man dressed in the dirty 'uniform' of the Merchants had been cut to pieces by what had to have been a tornado of blades.

The chain-link fence let me see what was going on. A massive truck that looked like Optimus after a massive amount of drugs and surgery was zooming around the place, with Empire skinheads shooting at it or dodging out of the way. A girl dressed in a flowing red and black robe floated on a piece of pavement high above the battle field, surrounded by dozens of concrete blocks. She was launching them with her mind, aiming for a rolling mound of trash. The trash rose up into the rough shape of a man and grabbed an Empire man by the face, throwing the poor guy into a truck (Er, a random truck, not Optimus' coked out brother).

Just then, loud profanity, somehow louder than the gunshots, roaring truck, and general chaos, came fro the warehouse. It was followed by more explosions.

"This never happened in the canon," I concluded.

Then, with a noise like the world most metal (heh) blender, a wolf made of glimmering steel came from the warehouse. Its howl, like blades slicing into glass, echoed. The Merchant capes squeled almost in unison, their eyes full of fear as they fired at the wolf with guns that were so rusty they should have exploded in their hands.

I leaped upwards at the same time the wolf leaped at the group of druggies. I couldn't fly to fast, but I could give myself brief boosts of speed in midair. I forced myself down at an angle, trying to get to what had to be Hookwolf before her ended up killing the Merchants.

A piece of concrete slammed into my side. It didn't hurt, but it threw me off my angle.

"Fuck!" I rolled as I hit the ground, but I was too late. Three Merchants were dead, sliced to ribbins by teeth of steel.

Then a trash arm slammed into me.

I frowned, turning to look at the one who'd hit me. I could hear the guy giggling as I looked over at him.

Nasty. Seriously. While a lot of the beast before me was made of simple concrete and metal, the amount of dirt, rotting fruit, old wrappers, and just plain shitty garbage on his body, made me want to remove my super-sensitive nose.

" **The new guy!"** He giggled again. **"Lets see how strong you are new guy!"**

He punched me again.

There are a lot of capes who are dangerous to me. I am not invincible. Tough, strong, fast, sure. But people could kill me. Assault, for example, was guy I'd most likely bet on winning that fight with just his powers.

Mush was a man covered in shit.

His trash covered fist hit my face. He pulled back. I lifted a hand up, and wiped at my now wet helmet. Then I glared at him. The sheer insult of it, the damn gall!

"My turn."

In a burst of speed, I reached deep inside the trash that enveloped his form. He screamed slowly, arms waving to try and stop me. I touched skin, got a grip on the slime covered man inside the beast. Grabbing him by the shoulders, I pulled him out, and ran about ten feet from his 'armor'. With a disgusting 'pop!' you can't imagine, the man known as Mush came out.

The skinny, slime-covered man stared at me in shock. I covered his throat with a hand and choked him, looking around as he gasped for breath.

"Who's next?"

Hookwolf leaped towards me. Squealer's truck charged at Hookwolf. Rune aimed more rocks at the Merchants.

Finally. A real fight.

Author's Note: Decided to end this with a summary of my new original fiction.

The story follows a half-orc named Char, who lives in a world where hybrids are hated and orcs are the devils of the wastelands. He's raised in a city by a blacksmith who has taught him everything he has known, until, when he is just becoming a teen, a wizard researching the difference between people born from interspecies relationships begins studying him. The Wizard, named Hasha, takes in interest in Char, and begins teaching him. Using the knowledge, Char begins creating weapons, armor, and tools from the lessons he is taught.

Basically, Char is the half-orc equivalent of Tony Stark. An inventor who begins building fantastic things the world has never seen.

My idea was based a lot on the way armor in many fantasy stories work (See Skyrim), with my conclusions being built from the universe itself.

See, this universe is not stuck in the Medieval stasis of other high fantasy world. The word science doesn't exist, because magic _is_ science, aka the study of the natural world and how it works. People are studying the migration patterns of animals and making breakthroughs in the study or hereditary genetics as they study alchemy to make aspirins and summon spirits to discuss their findings with contemporaries.

Char is the natural result of that world. Trained by Hasha, he uses modern (for his era) 'magic' to apply concepts like gunpower, runes, electricity, and more into his creations. It's hard for him, as he has no skill for magic, but it's something he can do that the racism around him can't touch.

And then, because he's a protagonist, something happens. Not saying what.


	17. Chapter 17

_**March 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2011**_

My armor was rated to stand up to anything the combined genius of two tinkers and a tinker AI were capable of shoving into technology. The materials it was made of were so heavy that for any other person they would been nothing but a metal coffin, but on me it was armor tough enough to withstand _me_. Long story short, it was damn tough.

I put that to the test as soon as Hookwolf and I tackled each other. I roared in happiness as I punched him, metal shattering beneath my fist.

Having super-speed makes combat oddly faster and slower than it should be. Hookwolf, twisting around to sink metal claws into me, was moving at a crawl. And yet, I felt like everything was on fast forward as well.

The impact of our crash shook the ground. I rolled on top of him, digging through his 'flesh' with my hands, reaching for his core. In the books, tearing Hookwolf's core in half had shut down his powers. If I could do the same, then I—

A truck slammed into us at high speed. Squealer said something unkind about our mothers as Hookwolf and I rolled under her car. I replied by reaching an arm up into the cars underbelly, slamming into the metal. With my arm deep in the truck, Hookwolf roaring beneath me, and a roaring engine dragging us along the ground, I started to laugh.

I wanted this! No more training! Just hitting things and feeling them shatter, withstanding blows that could kill me!

I tore deeper into the truck, pulling myself upward. Hookwolf bit deep into my leg, his metal teeth grinding small lines into my leg armor and tearing my cloth pants. I punched him in the muzzle, then kicked him away. Now free, I dug upwards into the truck, ripping through hastily welded steel, bunches of wires, and a few oddly glowing bits to reach the cockpit of the monstrosity. I tore through one more layer of steel, and got a wrench to the face.

As the wrench bent against my skin, I grinned. "You're dead! …I mean, under arrest. Yeah, that's it."

The woman sitting in the driver's seat stared at me. She was pretty enough to rival Miss Militia and Glory Girl, the two most beautiful women I'd ever met. It was ruined by the nasty clothes, small track marks of holes in her arms, and the loud profanity she started to spew.

Actually, I didn't mind the profanity so much.

Uncaring of the fact it hadn't worked the first time, she raised her wrench again, calling me homosexual in a very derogatory manner.

I responded by grabbing the wrench, tearing it from her hands, and sending a ki blast into the steering wheel. As she screamed in shock at the small explosion, I wrapped and arm around her waist and kicked open the door, leaping out of the truck. Spinning in the air with the still screaming curvy drug addict, I spun around to send dozens more ki blasts at the truck. It slammed into a grey brick wall and exploded in a spectacular fashion.

"What the fuck!?" Squealer cried out as we gently landed. "The fuck was that!"

"One for the highlight reel," I answered her blithely, not holding back my grin. My god, I'd just _dug_ _through_ a truck! Fun!

A silver blur rushed us. I had enough time to push the woman in my arms away before Hookwol slammed into us. Forgoing the form of a wolf he simply grabbed me up and threw me into the air. I immediately stopped myself on a burst of ki, only to have a massive concrete block hit me form the left. I flew back, and was hit by another, then by a steel girder.

"Rune," I growled.

Not feeling like getting juggled again, I dropped to the ground, 'pushing' myself down with a bit of ki, and felt a girder flew above me like a javelin. Landing on the ground, I rushed forward. Hookwolf sped towards me, but her wasn't anywhere near fast enough to intercept. A concrete block was floating towards rune as I approached. I leapt towards it, then off of it. Thanking god for all the anime cutscenes that had told me this would work, I hopped from floating girder to rising stone, moving with all the speed I could with my resistance armor holding me back.

Sabrina the Teenaged Nazi panicked as I came hopping towards her. The platforms I was using started to drift away from me as I came, and other debris shot at me like bullets. I used my slowly growing flight ability to do a double jumps, or to dodge, coming at her. I landed on the pavement she'd used as a platform.

"Shit!" She ducked under a half-hearted punch. I followed up by grabbing her by the back of her robe and pulling her into my grip. "Fuck, don't!"

"Too late," I winced as I wrapped an arm around her throat, choking her. As I did, feeling her struggle against me for air, I saw Hookwolf turning his attentions towards Squealer. To her credit, the young tinker had grabbed a long metal pole, but anyone could tell that a drug addict with a stick will lose to a giant metal wolf made of blades.

The platform started to sink. I leaped off of it, watching as debris fell from the skies, and launched a ki blast at Hookwolf. The creature leaped out of the way, letting the blast slam into the ground next to him. Dirt and stone exploded outward from my blast, showering Hookwolf.

I gently landed on the ground with the unconscious Rune in my arms.

"Surrender."

"Fuck that!" Squealer yelled at my declaration.

" **Not to a mutt like you,"** Hookwolf agreed.

I grinned at that, lowering Rune down. "Good. Cause I want to kick your ass."

Hookwolf roared. Squealer desperately tossed her metal stick at me. I ran forward, grabbing the metal pole out of the air. Hookwolf leaped towards me as I swung my makeshift staff into his head. It stabbed deep into his 'skull', withstanding the buzzsaw of blades that was his body long enough for me to follow up by leaping over him. I redirected myself with flight to slam into his back, forcing the bladed monster in the ground.

Then I ran for Squealer, lifting her off the ground.

"Fuck, again!?" she had time to yelp before I pulled her away. This time I hit a few pressure points about her spine, a move copied from Crane the Harmonious, and knocked her out.

Now free to deal with Hookwolf, I rushed at him to—

"YOU FUCK!" a new voice yelled out.

I stepped onto a glowing, flat plane of light. My right foot suddenly went flying left, a very weird sensation. I managed to regain my balance, but the random tug threw me off my game long enough for Hookwolf to take advantage of that. He leaped on top of me, metal teeth diving at my throat. I grabbed at his jaws, only for the wolf to suddenly simply surround me, as if I'd dived into a pool of blades. My armor, good as it was, slowly started to get scratched up by the blades around me.

 _Damnit. Need to find the core! If I can snap that in half…_

With that thought, I stopped holding back. I unleashed everything I had, tearing into the being around me. A bit of Tiger style kung fu was applied as I ripped into him. My sense of orientation was screwed thanks to Hookwolf constantly spinning me around and around in that world of blades. I roared in annoyance, searching for that little piece of him that I knew had to be broken.

Something made me snap my hand out to the side. I blinked when I felt a round object in the storm of blades. A hook went around my wrist, trying to pull me away from the ball. I ignored, pulling the metal ball into my grip. The blades and hooks went into over drive. I squeezed.

The core shattered in my grip. The blades stopped moving.

Then, one by one, they fell. Some separated from the rest, rapidly condensing into a roughly humanoid form before it touched the ground again, landing in a crouch. Hookwolf backed away, the blades drawing together into a human shape, skin appearing as they withdrew. I stared at the white man before me. Like Stormtiger, he was muscular, and shirtless. He had long, greasy blonde hair, an E88 tattoo on one bicep, and a wolf superimposed on a swastika on the other. He eyed me, angry as hell.

Then another plane of light appeared underneath me. I yelped in shock, landing on the ground as the plane of light put a dragging force on my body that sent me flying backwards.

"Fly bitch!" a black man with his upper face covered and really bad teeth had emerged from the warehouse. He pointed at me again, and I went spinning along the ground, landing against the remains of Squealer's truck. I grunted at the impact.

Damn. They may not have been able to hurt me, but they could at least throw me off my game.

With that thought I rose up and sprinted away as the next plane of light appeared, getting away from it.

Skidmark, leader of the Merchants, screamed as loud as he could, pointing over and over. Feeling once more like I was living in a video game, I zigzagged through the forest of blue and red planes of light he created, rushing towards him.

My fist slamming into his stomach shut him up nicely. The impact was apparently enough to knock him out, because he fell on the ground in a limp heap.

Then I looked into the warehouse itself.

Chaos. The warehouse was apparently used to repair and build boats, and at least three big ones made of fiberglass and metal were being used as cover. Metal shelves stood all over the ware house, holding tools and chemicals, and barrels of unknown chemicals that tickled my super-sensitive nose lay all over the place. Guns fired from various people, loud screams of pain and rage filled the air, and parahuman powers filled the large space. I could see a Merchant pulling back as a forest of blades aimed to take his head off, an Empire man crying out as a Merchant stabbed him with a blade. In the slow motion view of my speed, the whole tableau seemed frozen. I'd never seen anything like it outside of comics.

Oops. Smiling again.

I dropped my grin to pull Skidmark out into the courtyard. Grabbing Squealer and Rune, I tied up all three with my zipties, then followed up by wrapping Skidmark and Runes eyes in blindfolds to prevent them from using their powers effectively. Unfortunately, Hookwolf had run for it. Damn.

Deciding to let that go, I rushed back into the warehouse. About twenty skin heads, and forty or so junkies, with many more dead or wounded. Despite the numbers advantage, the Empire was winning. I could see Kaiser standing in one corner of the cluttered area, clad in armor that made him look like a knight. I looked him over real quick.

Back home, Kaiser was a bit of a legend on the forums I frequented. He was _the_ criminal mastermind, more than Coil in some ways. Of course, that could have just been fanon. I considered yelling out his name, just to freak him out, but decided against it.

Suddenly one of the blondes at his side started to grow. Fenja? Menja? One of the twins that get big started getting big. She carried a spear, and was built like a supermodel in armor that had feathers attached to it at strategic points.

As I watched, she swung her massive spear outwards, aiming at a boat some Merchants were using as cover. The poor thing shattered under the length of a blade the size of a car. The Merchants, exposed, stared in shock at the Empire cape. Some of the skinheads aimed their guns at the Merchants, firing. The Merchants did the same thing. Bullets flew through the air.

In a burst of speed, I ran in between the two groups. I moved with all the speed I could, flicking my hands out over and over, doing my best to catch everything. Then, I stopped.

For a moment, everyone stared at me. Then I opened my fists.

Two massive lumps of metal landed on the ground. Originally bullets before I'd caught and crushed them together.

"I'm only going to say this once," I looked between both groups. "I am Sun Wukong. I've already taken out four of your capes. Either surrender or run. Because if you don't I'm shattering all of your groins."

Silence filled the room. Menja(Fenja?) blinked her massive eyes. Her twin beside Kaiser cocked her head to the side.

One Merchant was dumb enough to shoot at me. I ran up to him before he'd finished pulling the trigger and… well, I kept my promise.

At the same time, Menja hit me with spear. I went flying through the air, and smashed through the wall. I barely stopped myself, and shook off the pain I'd felt. Then I charged back into the Warehouse. I punched Menja in her perfectly formed jaw, sending her back a step, then landed on her knee as she knelt. I smashed my right foot down into her knee, and was rewarded with a crack followed by a bellow of pain.

Then her armor summoned a forest of blades. They shot up at me, throwing me off. I twisted in the air and flew back at her, only to hit a shield the size of building instead. I hit the shield again, punching with all I had. Fenja (wait, maybe _this_ one was Menja? Which one used the shield?) fell back under the hit.

I landed on the ground and leaped back up to take on the pair. Another forest of blades came at me, only to shatter under a hail of bullets that sounded like they were coming from a laser gun.

I grinned at the familiar sound. Miss Militia had arrived.

Then I was slamming feet first into a shield. One of the twins was trying to defend her sister, but I forced the back instead. They hit the wall to the warehouse, and crashed into the ground. As I followed them outside, they rolled to their feet and faced me down.

As I stared up at them, I couldn't help but think of how ridiculous I looked in comparison to those two. Just me, standing in a side courtyard, facing two giant woman built like playboy bunnies. There were probably a few fifties monster movies based around that exact concept. Better yet, I felt like Ant-Man in the movie. Tiny, but super strong and durable as hell.

Even as that thought filled me, I was already leaping at the pair once more, my powerful legs cratering the ground behind me. The wind rushed around my helmet as I flew. A spear came at me, but another redirection sent me up higher. I slammed my head into the shield carrier's face. She fell back a step as I spun in the air to give her a kick.

"Come on!" I roared.

"Stay still you piece of shit!" The spear carrier roared.

With that, the three of us began to battle in earnest. I leaped from one to another twin, smashing my relatively tiny limbs into their body. I may have been small, but I hit hard as hell. As the fight went on, the pair of girls had reached around three stories in height, giving them enough durability to take my blows.

I was having fun. They could take a good hit from me, and give them in return. None of my speed, but they were pushing me with sheer instinct. I felt good.

Then an explosion of fire came from the warehouse. Miss Militia's voice came in on the radio.

" _Sun! The ABB has entered the combat zone!"_

A roar, dwarfing all the others I'd heard today, filled the air.

" _ **Ki'Ou!"**_

Lung had come.

 **Author's Note:**

This chapter was hard to write. I don't know why, I just had to push through to get it done. Still, I had fun with it. Next chapter is more combat. Like, ALL the combat. For good reason. And something horrific happens. After all, Vegeta always gets smashed right when he's on top of the world, right?

Also, my story, Feral, has been doing pretty well, and I'd like to see more people take a look at it. The next chapter is on my already for patrons, but the first four are available on spacebattles and sufficientvelocity. THe links to it should be on my profile, so I'd love it if I could get some feedback on that story as well as this.

Speaking of this story, I really would like to know peoples thoughts. On some level I feel like things are escalating very fast, but I've been planning for this to go down for awhile. I'd also like to note that I haven't been using a lot of dialogue in combat scenes for the same reason there isn't a lot of it in Samurai Jack. Hopefully that makes things better and not worse.

Anyways, tell me what you think, and please check out Feral.


	18. Chapter 18

Everyone knew about the legend of having a demon and an angel on your shoulders, telling you what to do, guiding you through your life and trying to push you on certain paths. At least, in Western culture. I wasn't so sure how popular the idea was in the rest of the world.

But for me, I could almost picture two versions of myself popping into existence even as one of the giant twins slashed out at me with her spear. I leapt upwards and felt a bit of wind as a blade the size of a wall slashed under me. As I did, the two sides of myself spoke out.

One side was human, the part of me built into me from birth. I needed to beat down the twins. They were some of the E88's strongest members, their best answer to brutes like me. Beating them down would remove two powerful cards for the Empire, and send a message to Kaiser, especially since the two were his mistresses. It was the logical decision.

The Saiyan side of me, which probably looked like a Super Saiyan 4 in appearance, was begging me to fight Lung. To finally deal with an issue that had come up during my research over the week. To fight the only person the populace of Brockton Bay thought would be able to kill me.

I compromised. The little grin on my face faded as I slowly flipped in the air. Gravity slowly took hold of me. I heard one of the busty giantesses beneath me call me a coward. I reached for my wrist and twisted my resistance dial.

All the way down.

As my armor released its grip on me, I released a burst of ki to go rocketing towards the pair.

My fist slammed into Menja's face with a sickening sound. Her head snapped back, eyes widening as she staggered back. Then her eyes rolled back into her head, her body slowly shrinking as she passed out.

"Menja!" the other blonde screamed, her voice shaking the air.

I landed on the ground and looked up, eyes hard. Her own eyes were filled with anger, and a touch of something more. Something that made both halves of me smile.

Fear.

She swung her sword down. With my enhanced speed, it would have been easy to dodge the blow. Instead, I lifted a hand. The blade slammed into my palm, a little bit of pain radiating from the blow before it faded. I stood tall, holding her back with one hand as she pressed down. She grunted, tried to pull her sword back. I squeezed my hand, cracks radiating outwards. The fear in her eyes grew.

"Sorry," I said quietly. "But I've let this go on for too long."

With a tight grip on the cold steel, I shattered the sword in my fist. Fenja fell back, shocked. I leapt up and punched her in the sternum, keeping my blow strong enough to knock her out, but still hitting with far more force than before.

I didn't wait for her to pass out. I leaped off her shrinking body, rocketing towards the warehouse.

"This is Sun Wukong, I've taken out Menja and Fenja. Moving to engage Lung."

I flew into the warehouse through the hole that had been made earlier. The building hadn't gotten any quieter. The second I landed a skinhead spun around and swung a tire iron at me. I ignored him, eyeing the area around us. The tire iron bouncing off my head meant nothing compared to the sight I saw across from me.

A dragon roared, an explosion of flame coming from his skin. He wasn't done ramping up. His scales were just coming in, a bare chest full of tattoos turning reptilian. He grabbed a Merchant and threw the poor junkie girl through air. She screamed as she landed, breaking her legs. Lung roared.

"Hey!" My voice sounded pitiful in the chaos of the room, with bullets flying, powers flashing, and people screaming. But he heard me. Lung looked up, his eyes hard. I was sure that if I still had my tail, it would have been lashing out like a whip. I lifted my hand to my wrist and turned my resistance dial all the way up. "Time to dance."

The dumb skinhead who'd been beating on me with a now dented tire iron screamed when a hail of rubber bullets sent him down. I flickered my eyes over to Miss Militia, who had taken a high spot behind some cover, up in a scaffold. She was taking shots at the gangsters, leaving the parahumans to duke it out. Kaiser's blades were visible everywhere, but seemed to have walled off one section of the warehouse. Apparently he'd already taken off.

I pushed that all back, stepping forward. Lung kept his eyes on me as he grew. The closer I got, the bigger he became. His eyes shifted into something reptilian, golden almost. Hands became claws, a long tail slowly grew from the base of his spine and shredded his pants, his jaw grew outwards. Muscles and scales grew all over his body.

When we were close enough to hear each other, he spoke. **"Wi'Ki'Ou. Brea'Ou."**

I took a second to read his body language. Even as misshapen as he was, he still acted like a human being, enough that he could be read. He was confident, eager. The Saiyan part of me felt insulted at that. "Tough guy when you think you can win. But I know the truth. The sort of truth Vegeta would love to exploit."

He had a half a second to look confused. Then I leapt up and towards him, rearing my fist back. I was moving slowly, enough that I could be seen. It was still enough for me to punch him in the face. His scales cracked under my fist, and he staggered back. Still moving slowly, I punched him again, and again, getting rid of technique and speed for stylistic, overblown attacks.

He roared in pain and rage, fire lashing out at me as he grabbed one of my punches and hit me a few times himself, his massive fists driving air from my lungs. I twisted my arm out of his grip, let him hit me twice more, then shoved him back. He flew back, roaring, and crashed through the flimsy sheet metal behind him. Bullets flew around us, the beat of the drum to our fight as he rolled to his feet and I met him. His fist bounced off my arm as I blocked, fire burning my skin. Once again avoiding any sort of technique, I stood my ground against the dragon, and we threw down. My fist shattered scales, claws tore apart my armor, and we roared. The world was fire and rage.

I hated him. I thought I'd felt hate before. But hate wasn't just the anger. It was the blow to your pride. It was looking at someone and realizing that they were the anti-thesis of everything you are. It was seeing someone hold the title that should be yours. It was watching evil grab all that is good, and lording it over you. I hated Lung. Because at the end of the day?

"You don't even lift." My voice was cold. The joke that had crossed universes to this moment came out as a dark statement of fact. Lung didn't respond, only lashing out with his fangs. I held him back, and felt more of my armor melt painfully as he breathed fire on me. "How strong are you? Does making your base level stronger add to your ramped up strength? Can you focus your powers to one spot? Do you ramp up from true threats, or can you control the transformation by convincing yourself that something is a greater threat than it is?"

His fist slammed into my nose. I felt blood fill my mouth. I ignored it.

"See, I know your secret. The dark part of you that you hide from the world." I grabbed his ears and pulled him down to meet my knee, using a classic Muay Thai strike. "What drives you, Lung? What is the focus of your life? You carry yourself like a warrior, but that isn't true, is it?"

" **Sh'Up! Kil'!** " Razor sharp claws swiped at my face, leaving three deep scratches in my cheek that spilled. The grin that sprouted on my face at the feel of it was impossible to hold back, so I let it go.

"Worries you, doesn't it? See, I've been letting misinformation guide me for a while. It was only until recently that I realized what a mistake that was."

The Undersiders. I'd acted on fanon, expected them to act like they did in the fanfiction I'd read. And they had, for the most part. It was only later that I'd realized something. When I'd mentioned Dinah getting kidnapped, none of them had a real reaction. Sure, they hadn't acted like sociopaths, except for Regent. But they also hadn't acted like they truly cared beyond what was expected. I'd just ignored it due to bias.

Fanon bias.

The thought had bothered me. The realization that I'd been so stupid hurt my pride. So obviously, I'd done everything possible to fix that.

"I read up on you-" Lung threw me back. I slammed into a fence, rolling to my feet as the metal snapped against me. A sidestep got me out of the way of a hammerblow, leaving a crater in the concrete. "-Kenta." When Lung froze in shock, I kicked him in the ribs, sending him back. "Half-Chinese, Half-Japanese. You faced discrimination because of that. It's why the ABB allows all Asians to join. But let's dig deeper into your motivations."

He was ten feet tall now, as imposing as Broly compared to me. All the broken bones, scales, and teeth he'd gained in my fight with him were already healed. His roar made me cringe. A bullet bounced off me from behind, but I ignored it to focus on the dragon that was burning the concrete below us.

"You met her first. Had a drug overdose while a terrifying woman in a fedora held you down."

Lung froze again, dragonic eyes wide. " **Hawi?** "

"A cute black piggie told me." Actually it was a bunch of random stuff I'd pulled together based on reports and what I could remember from fanfics, but he didn't need to know that. I lifted my arm, wincing at the pain I felt in my ribs as I did. "Come on. You still got a few minutes of your psych eval left."

He stared at me.

"Scared?"

That did it. Roaring, he rushed forth, fire erupting around us with no source. I lifted my hand and blasted the incoming fire with ki blasts, keeping the hot flames from incinerating me. Lung slammed into me as I did, ignoring the ki blasts that tore chunks from his chest. We slammed into the street, landing on a parked car. As the metal was crushed under us, the gas tank was ignited by Lung's flames. We were sent flying by the explosion that followed. I stopped in mid-air, floating as I glared down at Lung. He got to his feet, looking up at me in rage. Wings rose out of his back as we glared at each other.

"When are you going to run?" I yelled down at him. "You ran from the Chinese government! You ran from Leviathan! You came to a city where no one could truly challenge you, and you kept running! Never facing a real challenge, never pushing yourself!"

Lung roared in rage, and he flew upwards, swinging his flame-wrapped claws at me. His wings beat in the air with incredible force. I flew down, shooting him with ki as he rose towards me. The fire he responded with caused the ki blasts to explode in the air, buffeting us. We hit each other like tank shells meeting in midair, spinning around. Saiyan and Dragon grappled in the skies, scratching, punching, and biting at each other. My hate for him grew.

"You're not a coward, Lung! I can accept cowardice!" I punched him in the face. "You don't even lift! Do you understand what that means!? You come up with excuses, you dodge challenges, you don't train! But you claim to be the strongest!" He grabbed my shoulders, digging his claws in. I headbutted him, and felt his nose shatter and heal under my blow. "No one here can beat you! No can make you _work_ for a win! All you have to do is kick back and let your reputation grow!"

We slammed into the ground. "Lazy!" I rolled on top of him and punched him over and over. "A dumb thug, unwilling to push himself! Selling girls as sex slaves, pretending to be a shogun! What worth is there to you!?"

He ramped up even as I held him down. It didn't matter. My armor was falling apart. I was getting faster and faster, stronger and stronger, just as he did.

" **Ki'Ou!** " Fire rushed across me, hurting me further. I slammed his mouth shut with an uppercut. I was winning. It didn't matter how strong he could get. I'd simply beat him into unconsciousness before he got there.

Then a moron wandered in.

"Dude, that is so fucked up!"

Lung and I froze. We turned out heads to look at the voice.

A white guy, a teenager really, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, had gotten close, and was filming us with his phone. He was staring at the screen, not paying attention to the fact he'd gotten about fifteen feet close to two superhumans in the midst of combat.

"...Crap."

Lung roared, lifting a hand to blast the moron. At super-speed, I moved forward, yelling out.

I got in front of the guy and spread my arms out. Heat slammed into my back, and pain flared. I screamed in horror, and the guy joined me, scrambling back. I spread my ki out, trying to shield the man. The fire seemed to go on forever.

Then it was over. I fell to my knees, panting. I couldn't feel my back anymore, but I knew it must have been charred like raw steak.

"Oh shit. Shit," the moron mumbled as he scrambled back. I felt like screaming at him for his idiocy.

Instead I chuckled. "Learn to...dodge, you moron."

A massive clawed hand rested on my shoulder. It squeezed, hard. I felt pain flare as metallic claws scratched at burnt skin. " **Ah...Wih.** "

I win.

He shouldn't have said that. Whatever humanity within me was violently pushed aside. I spun around, grabbing his arm hard. We glared at each other, me in anger, him in shock. I thought about saying a one-liner, but only had energy for one thing.

So I ripped his arm off.

"Oh shit!" the moron screamed in horror.

Lung stepped back, releasing an angry cry.

The situation only got crazier when a blonde blur slammed into Lung, sending him back towards the warehouse.

Glory Girl grinned as she floated before me. "Heh. Finally got Lung."


	19. Chapter 19

"Yeah, we're all impressed," I huffed out.

Glory turned to look at me, grinning. Her smile fell immediately, replaced with horror. "Dude..."

"'Tis but a flesh wound," I said. As I rose up, I could feel my spine slowly grinding against the burnt meat of my back. It felt cold, which confused me, until I realized my spine was exposed to the air.

"Whoa, whoa, stop moving!" Glory Girl flew over, trying to hold me while simultaneously not touching me. I ignored her, instead tapping my ear and activating the radio in my helmet.

"Sun Wukong to all allied forces, who is in the combat zone?"

" _Miss Militia, I'm still here. Lung just flew by, are you still fighting him?"_

"Kinda. Anyone else?"

" _Assault here. I'm on my way bro, where are you?"_

"I'm with Glory Girl. Sending GPS coordinates to ya." I tapped a sequence against my helmet, ignoring the hiss Glory made at the sight of my back. I looked over at her, holding back a scream at the pain that followed. "I-Is the rest of New Wave here?"

"Yeah," Glory Girl floated upwards. "Wait here, I'll get Ames!"

I watched her float up. Then I turned and started running. But not without Lung's arm.

It hurt. It hurt like you wouldn't believe. I didn't know how I'd managed to shield the moron from Lung's fire, considering things like heat transference should have turned him into charred meat even without direct contact to the fire, but it had left me to take the brunt of the fire. And now I was running, at super-speed no less.

I ran anyways. Lung was easy to follow, considering the fact he'd torn through a tree when Glory smashed him. When I found him, the jerk was slowly rising up from a crater, on the edge of a large field. ABB, Merchant, and Empire forces were giving him a wide berth, all while fighting each other. Metal shards filled the area, probably from Kaiser. I ignored it all, stepping forward.

A motorcycle came up behind me. "Dude! What the hell!?"

"Hey bro. I need to go return something." I waved the arm in my hand, the massive and scaled limb spraying a bit of blood.

I heard Assault gulp. "This is the most metal shit I've ever seen. Bro, wait, you can't go out there!" He grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me back. I tried to pull away, but he pulled every bit of force from my attempt and used it get me behind a beat up old truck. "Hold on. I can literally see your spine! You need Panacea."

"I do," I nodded as firmly as I could. "She's been practicing that move."

"What move?"

"The secret one. The one I can't do yet, because I keep getting annoyed at the fact she got it done first."

Assault rolled his eyes at me. "Just wait here for Panacea, okay!? I'll run interference!"

"No," I stared at him, pain starting to radiate through me. "I have to prove that Lung isn't the strongest."

Assault frowned at me. "Dude, I get how you feel, but wait to get healed. Velocity, Miss Militia, and I can deal with this for now."

"...All right." I conceded.

He nodded at me, then leaped away, joining the battle. In seconds, a red blur zoomed alongside him, Velocity quickly rushing in and smashing into a small group of thugs. The rhythmic 'thud, thud, thud' of rubber bullets on skin could just barely be heard.

Leaving me behind to watch the badass fighting, all while Lung roared and Empire and Merchant guys battled.

"I hate this moment... so goddamn much." I laid back and waited.

As it turns out, feeling immense pain from a burnt open back is very boring.

So I spent the endless seconds before Panacea arrived to stare at the battles taking place.

As I watched, Assault focused on the thugs. He broke limps and nose with ease, absorbing the kinetic energy from blows launched at him. Apparently he had his power on at a constant rate, because bullets that flew at him simply stopped in mid-air. I had to admire that.

At the same time, Velocity and Kaiser found themselves in a duel. Velocity ran around the Empire asshole, dodging random blades that sprouted from everywhere. Guns, baseball bats, and telephone poles all sprouted blades at the speedster. With my enhanced perception, I could track Velocity's run across the courtyard, bounding around to avoid the worst of the blades.

A sudden whoosh of noise filled the air, and I looked up to see Glory Girl and Panacea float down side by side towards me.

"Sensei!" Panacea called out, rushing towards me.

"Hold off Lung!" I yelled at Glory Girl. "He's tearing the Merchants apart!"

"On it!" Glory Girl flew off. As I watched, she slammed into Lung. The dragon roared, swiping at her. Her force field held, allowing her to smash him again and again.

"Do I have your permission to heal you?" Panacea asked in a rush.

"...What?" I turned to look at her. Out of the corner of my eye, three thugs rushing towards us found themselves in immense pain cause by rubber bullets smashing into six knees caps. I ignored their screams to focus on Panacea. "What did you say?"

"Do I have your permission to heal you?" She asked again, already grabbing my wrist. I stopped her.

"Are you serious!? Why do you even need to ask that?" Oni Lee teleported nearby. He threw a grenade at me. I grabbed it out of the air and threw it back, ignoring the sound of a body getting turning into powder as the grenade blew.

"I always ask that!" Panacea yelled back. A thug grabbed her shoulder. She spun around and punched him in the balls with all her strength. Something made an odd popping noise as he squealed, falling to the ground.

"I..." I stared at her. Then I grabbed her arm and pulled her close, so that our eyes were meeting. "Amy... I trust you. You know that right?"

The battle around us seemed to fade. Amy's hood fell off her head. Her eyes met mine. And I saw it. Body-Read showed me the truth.

She didn't know. She truly didn't know. Even after all this time. Amy didn't know if I trusted her. No. TO be specific, she didn't know if I truly accepted her. Because she hadn't told me the full truth after all. I wasn't supposed to know how powerful she was. I wasn't supposed to know about her feelings for her sister. About the dark thoughts pushing her everyday to become a monster.

Amy believed that if I found out about any of it I would simply push her away.

"Amy I..." I struggled to think of what to say. The world slowed down for me. I thought through every eventuality.

Then it came to me.

"Amy," she stared at me. "I will always trust you. Always. Even when you are at your lowest, you are the person I will never lose faith in." I placed a hand on her cheek. "You are my student. The person I choose to learn all that I learn. Everything I am, will go to you one day. That's what that means. A teacher, a good teacher, needs to have faith that their student will always to the right thing with whatever they learn." When Oni Lee ported in, I raised a hand and blasted a bit of ki in his direction. As the explosion that followed lit her face, I smiled at the awestruck Amy. "I don't care what happens. Even if you got the power to destroy the whole world, there is no one I'd have more faith in. No matter how dark you think things are, I won't lose faith in you." I touched my forehead to hers. "You my student. I'm your teacher. And if I die knowing the only thing I ever accomplished was teaching to fly, I will have no regrets."

A tear fell down from her eye, and went down to run along the back of my hand. "So don't worry about my permission anymore, all right? You heal me if I need it. And I'll always let you."

She didn't speak. I just felt the skin on my back slowly begin to move, then stitch itself together. The feeling of muscle moving to cover my spine up, of bone simply appearing where none was, may have been one of the oddest things I've ever felt.

Of course, it was then followed by something both familiar, and very, very different.

Later, Miss Militia would tell me what it looked like. For a moment, it was just Amy and I sitting together, forehead to forehead. As she watched us, firing at any thugs that came by, hitting Viktor when he tried to go towards us.

Then, according to her, I exploded into blue light. Dust rose into the air, and Amy was rocked back onto her heels. My eyes became fully white. As I rose to my feet, I clenched my fists, and roared.  
 ** _  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_**

For me, all I felt was power. My ki skyrocketed, and fire filled my veins, a fire that didn't burn, but instead invigorated me. The world around me faded. I was connected to something greater. Energy so powerful I could barely conceive of it.

This was what it meant to be a Saiyan. To look within myself, and realize that my potential was unending. So much power, and it was a drop in a sea spanning galaxies. Super Saiyan, Ascended Super Saiyan... Super Saiyan God. Somewhere within me, in that moment, I could feel them. All that was possible, all that was just in reach.

Then it was over. But I was left with a gift.

"Amy," I grinned at my shocked student. "want to see something cool?"

I disappeared. My next few minutes were spent doing two things. I grabbed thugs and tossed them aside as I knocked them out, over and over again as I left every parahuman but Velocity moving in slow motion. 30 Merchants. 25 Empire. And 26 ABB. My hands flew, fingers entering pressure points, fist smashing into chests. From the outside, it must have looked like dozens of men and women were simultaneously beaten by a supernatural force. I was gentle. I'm sure they thought I was brutal.

I whispered in each ear I passed as I blazed across the yard. To Kaiser, to Velocity, to Viktor, to Assault, to Miss Militia. Only a simple sentence, spoken at almost the same moment. I took my cue from the Doctor. Because even at my best, I can't help but be a nerd. Six words.

"You ever see a dragon fall?"

Lung was still roaring. Glory Girl had flown up, ready to hit him.

I went first. No more games. No more jokes, no psychology, no speeches.

I was taking my cue from Vegeta at his best. If I could beat someone, someone who wasn't worth the fight any more, it was time to do it with style.

My foot sank into Lung's stomach. Reptilian eyes widened. Scales shattered. Organs shifted beneath my boot.

He was already healing, even as he staggered. I didn't mind. While his body healed, grew, ramped up, I was already moving.

My elbow shattered his jaw. My fist broke his right arm. My shin turned his knee to powder.

It would have been easier to kill him. One punch. Into his chest, shove it up into his brain. And destroy his heart in the process, while releasing ki to cook him from the inside. One punch.

Instead, I was going to channel my inner Saint George. Fast and hard, with a thousand cuts.

No more holding back though. I utilized every martial art in my arsenal. A Muay Thai knee shattered his sternum. Tai Chi palm strike to scramble his brain. Boxing from Ali himself to turn his ribs to powder.

Fire surrounded me for a brief moment. I flared my ki, became a blazing blue storm as the fire was blown back. My fists hit even harder. I didn't stop. Thirty seconds. Red and blue surrounded us. I laughed from pure joy. Lung screamed/roared/whined, his voice full of pain. Then he quieted for a moment. I checked his pulse in a blur.

Then I hit him harder, smashing his head and heart. Reptilian eyes closed.

"And sweep the leg," I followed suit, kicking his feet from under him. Lung in the air for a moment. Then he, at last, fell.

The courtyard seemed to hold it's breath, watching the dragon.

Lung slowly began to shrink.

I grinned. "There. One dragon, ready for a cage."

I looked around. Glory Girl floated nearby, shock in her feature. Assault stared at me, then gave me a thumbs up. I returned it. Then I looked at the courtyard as a whole.

"Twenty seconds!" I roared at the various gangsters. "That's how long you got to leave. No picking up your unconscious guys either. They're under arrest!" I ignored the sound of Miss Militia yelling at me over my somehow intact radio. "Go home. And don't pull this massive war bullshit anymore."

Panacea landed next to me from the sky, coming to my right side. Glory Girl landed on the other, followed by Velocity. Assault lazily strode to meet us.

"Like I said. This fight's over." I eyed the various fighters. Viktor and me met eyes. Body-Read showed me the hint of greed in his eyes while the thought of stealing martial arts skill filled him. I stomped my foot, and turned the asphalt beneath me into powder. "Now!"

They left. The Empire, the most disciplined of the bunch, went first. The Merchant's and ABB were next.

Towards the end, Kaiser looked back at me. For one moment, we met eyes.

Kaiser, the leader of parahuman Nazi's, met eyes with Gohan, a Muslim Saiyan with a mixed race. We stared at each other.

This wasn't over. One way or another, despite my power, Kaiser would make trouble. And I'd be there to meet it.

He turned away, smirking.

Soon, they were gone. Leaving it to us to clean the mess.

"...Damn," Velocity looked around. "That's a whole lot of people under arrest."

"I wish real life had montages," Assault said with a sigh. "Things would be easier."

"No fun though!" Glory Girl chirped.

"Sensei," Panacea said earnestly.

"Yeah?" I asked her.

"Won't you get in trouble? For letting them go like that?" She asked worriedly.

I frowned. In truth, I didn't know why I'd done that. Technically, with Lung's defeat, I could have beaten everyone with my teams help.

Before I could think more on that, a Protectorate van rolled up. As soldiers marched out of them, and more vans came to join us, I decided to focus on the moment.

Lung was down. More to come.

Taylor. Skitter. She'd be my next task then.

Until then, Miss Militia was coming up to me, angry as hell, and sexy to boot. One added to the other for some reason.

As I prepared to get yelled at, I planned for the future.

 **Author's Note:**  
I apologize if this chapter is short or seemingly unfinished for your tastes. With work the way it is, I don't have any time for big chapters. I get two days to do short stuff sadly. That said, I hope guys enjoyed this. Gohan's powerup, as you might guess, was massive, enough to change a lot. Consider how beastly Piccolo and Goku were at the end of Dragon Ball after all.

And please, consider supporting me on . I'm working on updating the page with various new rewards, so even if you can't give a dollar to support me, advice and comments are still more than enough.

Thank you guys so much for all the love and support. Your patience is something I can never be thankful enough for, and I can't help but be humbled for all of it.

Next chapter will be after Feral and Through a Temple. Feral comes out tomorrow, Through a Temple a lot longer. The next Saiyan involves Gohan being yelled at, bad guys scheming, power testing in the wake of Gohan, and Panacea pondering. Also, the Ghost from Doctor Who. One of those won't happen.


	20. Chapter 20 Interlude

_Genius Linebacker:_

My name is Bob. And I'm a scientist. I research parahumans, specializing in those like Brutes, Movers, and Blasters.

Speaking of research, my latest foray into the field was watching a clip of my newest research and close friend, Gohan Moha, tear apart a small tank. The thirty ton machine had been donated for destruction, and Gohan had a gleeful look on his face as he ripped apart inches of steel and dug deep into the defunct war engine.

Gohan wasn't on my mind however, except in the most basic sense. I'd been obsessing over something else entirely. Namely, I'd been focused on ki.

Ki. Gohan hadn't invented the word. It had roots in martial arts, and was believed to be a universal energy of sorts. The Force from Star Wars was a more modern take on the belief, and Gohan often used the philosophy of the series to guide Panacea through her lessons.

I brushed a hand through my hair, leaning back as I absentmindedly watched Gohan start biting into the tank, tearing chunks off with his teeth and spitting it out. The problem with Ki was that it wasn't real. Before Scion, supernatural abilities were the product of legends, myth, and fiction. Legends like Hercules, like Thor, like Sun Wukong for that matter, were just that. Legend. Fantasy.

So how was it that Panacea could learn to use ki?

Technically it would make sense that Gohan was a Trump. That he could pass abilities onto others, and so teach Panacea to fly and shoot ki like him.

But that didn't make sense. Or at least, I didn't think it did. Powers weren't supposed to work that way. A person who got abilities from a Trump wasn't supposed to keep them permantly. More importantly, ki was the only power I'd ever heard of that could be developed independent of the Trump. In other words, someone following Gohan's training methods, without actually being around him, would gain the powers.

My stomach rolled at the thought. Once again, I tried to hold it down, and sighed. "You damn coward." I said to myself.

As I sat there, my phone rang. I picked it up, rubbing my eyes tiredly. "Hello?"

"Hey Bob," a young sounding voice said on the other end. "Director Piggot said she's ready for you now."

"...I'm on my way."

-

Minutes later, I was standing before the very large form of Director Emily Piggot. She was looking down at my various notes, records, and conclusions, a deep frown slowly sinking into the folds of skin on her face. She looked up at me. I swallowed nervously. Seriously, a man with as many muscles as me should not be such a damn coward.

"Robert, these conclusions... Do you understand the implications?"

I nodded. "I do ma'am," _more than you know._ "But it's all true. Gohan's ability to use ki... it may be a bigger game changer than we thought."

Piggot looked up at me, wordlessly asking me to explain further.

"Panacea, for example. Before meeting him, she was only a striker. Now she's also a mover with flight, and a blaster. As well as, well... a brute."

Piggot blinked. "A brute?"

"Low-level. But she is hitting with far more power than her build would suggest, more akin to a skilled boxer than a teenage girl. She may not know it, but training with Gohan is bringing more changes than we could have thought."

I pointed at my files. "And she isn't the only one. Glory Girl is becoming faster when it comes to flight speed. I haven't done any tests on others that have trained with Gohan, but I'd like to. I hypothesis that anyone using his methods of training may be getting to a level of physical ability beyond human."

Piggot stared at the notes. Then she looked up at be. "You workout with Gohan as well... don't you?"

"...Yes ma'am." I reached into my back pocket and took out a couple of slips of paper. "I also have evidence that someone practicing Gohan's methods while away from him, may still start showing signs of the ability to use ki." The papers in my hands somehow felt even heavier than any weight I'd lifted before. I stared at them for a moment. Just paper. Paper that would ruin my quiet life forever. I stepped forward and placed them on her desk. "I'd like to turn myself in as an unregistered parahuman. In the course of training alone, using the methods I recorded Gohan using, I've gained a superhuman ability."

The Director barely flinched. She simply eyed me. Still, I noticed a hand go under her desk. "Bob... what have you done?"

I raised a hand, my palm facing up. This part was hard. If I succeeded, if I wasn't just going insane, then...

The thought was discarded. I had a responsibility to the PRT. Whatever came next, I had to do the right thing.

With an incredible amount of strain, I focused on my right hand. Piggot and I stared at my palm for a moment. Then, for just a second, a blue light flashed in my hand. I tried to keep it going, but it disappeared immediately, leaving me panting and exhausted.

Piggot and I stared at each other. After a moment, she reached for her phone. "Understood."

With just a few clocks of a button, I watched my world crack apart. Later I'd find out how ridiculous I was being. I've always been overdramatic when I get scared. Big guy like me, breaking down and crying at the mere thought I'll end up in a fight.

But all I could think as a worried Director Piggot asked me if I was okay was, _Damn you, Gohan. And damn me, for being so damn curious._

 _Brandish:_

When Carol Dallon, aka Brandish, and the rest of New Wave got to the site of the battle between the Empire, Merchant, and ABB forces, the fight was already over. As they came over, PRT soldiers were handcuffing gangsters.

"Awww," Laserdream said sadly. "We're late."

"Hush now," Lady Photon, real name Sarah Pelham, said with a gentle smile at her daughter. "Give me a second guys. I'm going to go ask Miss Militia what happened."

"What about Vicky?" Brandish winced at how panicked she sounded. She couldn't help it. Vicky had only come back to them in order to grab Amy. The rest of them just couldn't catch up with Vicky in time to really help her, considering how _fast_ she'd become.

"She's over there," Shielder pointed at Vicky, who was standing next to a van, watching as PRT members slowly guided a stretcher carrying what looked like a block of containment foam into the black van.

Brandish felt a rush of relief, and just barely kept from falling over. She was completely okay.

"Thank god," Brandish whispered. She was about to rush over to Victoria, to give her the combination of scolding and spoiling all mothers had perfected since the days of old.

Then, she saw _him._

He was shirtless, his outfit in tatters. A orange helmet, though partially destroyed, hid his face. He was scanning the area, arms crossed as he watched everyone.

"Carol?" her husband asked.

Brandish suddenly realized that they were staring at her. Laserdream, Shielder, Manpower, and her husband, Flashbang. "Yes?"

"You're..." Manpower looked at her husband, then back at her nervously. "Growling?"

Brandish stopped grinding her teeth, but kept her eyes on him.

Sun Wukong. The newest member of the Protectorate. He'd come out of nowhere, which was normal for superhumans. After all, most didn't share their identities. What wasn't normal, was for a new superhuman to so deeply involve themselves in _her_ family.

Vicky wouldn't shut up about him, about how strong he was, about how he taught her all the time, about how hot his abs were-

"Seriously, are you okay?" Manpower asked as the aggressive noises from Brandish increased.

He was apparently teaching Amy as well. Amy could _fly_ now! Could fire blasts of light!

It was like he was mocking Brandish directly. Turning Amy into a combination of Marquis and her. The daughter of a super-villain and a superhero. The mere thought of the gentlemanly and evil man who was Amy's true father made Brandish even angrier.

Brandish pushed down those thoughts however. They were illogical. How could he have known who Amy's father was? If anything, Carol didn't mind Amy's growing abilities. In truth, she actually liked Amy's new powers. She was able to keep up with the rest of the family now on patrols, and the training was allowing her to be more safe in the streets. Amy was able to fight off thugs, fly away from danger, and work with her family to blast opponents from long range. All in all, Carol could even say she was happy for her daughter. Amy was becoming one of them.

But that didn't distract from the fact that her teenage daughters were now spending all their time after school hanging out at the Protectorate Headquarters with a grown man. People were starting to notice. ANd Carol didn't know why that angered her so much, which only made her angrier.

She was trying to be a good mother, to allow Vicky and Amy their space. But she just didn't _trust_ him. Sun Wukong, with his spiky and uncombed hair popping out of his helmet, with an abdomen filled with as many muscles as could fit on a human torso without becoming obscene. Standing there, staring back at her-

Brandish suddenly realized he was watching her in turn. For a moment, Sun Wukong and Brandish met eyes. The two didn't move.

Then Assault walked up to Sun Wukong and spoke to him, forcing the martial artist to break eye contact with Brandish.

Carol found herself taking in a deep breath. Her cheeks were warm, and her anger was now edged with an odd confusion.

"You guys okay?" The group looked over at Lady Photon.

"Um," Manpower looked over at Brandish, who grumbled.

"Carol? You okay?"

"Aunt Carol was kinda staring at Sun Wukong," Laserdream said softly, then 'eeped' at the way her aunt glared at her.

"Oh, the new cape?" Sarah looked over at him. "Miss Militia wanted to introduce him to us. We can meet him if you-"

Suddenly the superhuman martial artist rushed off, leaving the group to watch as Assault waved.

"Huh. Guess not."

Brandish tried to figure out how she felt about that. Eventually, they would have to meet. She'd see about setting something. She just didn't trust him, this man who her daughters were so enamored with. The question was, what would happen when they met?

And why were her cheeks still so damn warm!?

She sighed to herself. Well, no need to worry for now. Vicky was safe. Amy was healing a Merchant who's voice seemed to be higher than that of most men. And her family was around her.

Later, she would speak to Sun Wukong. Maybe get a better handle on what kind of person he was so she could make a firm decision. For now, it was time for New Wave to congratulate the Protectorate.

As Brandish stepped forward, she didn't notice the contemplative look her sister gave her in response.

 _Assault:_

Assault, Velocity, and Miss Militia looked on as the PRT guys and police officers arrested gangster after gangster. ABB, Empire, and Merchant guys, locked into handcuffs and carted away in whatever vehicle was available.

"Quite a sight, huh?" Assault asked.

Velocity nodded. "Yep. I don't think we've gotten so many of these guys before. Hell, we might be able to end patrols early today. If we had a quota, it'd be filled for the next week."

"Still lost a lot of them," Miss Militia said.

Assault scoffed. "Who cares. Look at that."

He nodded to a group of men guiding several people. Rune, Hookwolf, Skidmark, Mush, Squealer, Menja, and Fenja. While Sun Wukong had fought them all, Miss Militia had to put down Squealer when she tried to escape, and Velocity had knocked out Rune after fighting her for several minutes. Glory Girl had knocked out Fenja when the giant nazi woman had tried to escape carrying Menja. Assault himself had been forced to fend off Kaiser, Victor, and Othala at the same time, so he hadn't gotten anyone for himself.

And yet, Assault had to say...

"This was a good day, guys."

Velocity and Miss Militia turned to look at him, the speedster chuckling as Miss Militia grinned. "Yep. Especially with that guy in our custody." Velocity nodded at the massive block of containment foam holding the human form of Lung.

"We have to be careful though," Miss Militia said thoughtfully. "Kaiser won't let the capture of his men be permanent if he can help it. Or at least, not the capes."

"Get the fuck off me!" The three turned to see an irate Squealer finally lose her temper. She lashed out fruitlessly. Unlike the others, she wasn't sedated, since she couldn't cause the trouble Hookwolf, Rune, or even Skidmark could without access to tools.

Of course, she could cause almost as much damage with her coarse language, as she began to make ears blister.

"Damn, I should be taking notes," Velocity snarked.

"I know right?" Assault grinned. "Pretty sure that sort of language should be a power in own right."

"Yeah, well," Miss Militia said as Squealer reared up to attack her guards. In a flash, a gun appeared in her hand, and she fired. "Lets not risk this being a weird second trigger, shall we?"

Squealer managed a tiny yelp when a small dart entered her neck. Then she collapsed.

Miss Militia smirked. The smug look on her face faded when she noticed Assault and Velocity staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing," Velocity said hesitantly. "you just seem a whole lot... impulsiver?"

"Spontaneous works better. Maybe impetuous." Assault shrugged when the others looked over at him. "Battery got me a word a day calendar. But yeah, you've been a whole lot more hasty lately."

"Huh," she blinked. "Haven't noticed."

At that moment, a PRT guard came over. The three heroes listened carefully as he spoke. When he left, the three of them were thoughtful.

"A new villain maybe?" Miss Militia asked.

Velocity shook his head. "No idea. We need to track them down either way."

"I'll tell Kong," Assault said softly. He stepped away from them. As he strode across the former battle-field, every once in a while feeling a bullet shell under his feet, and stepped over cracked earth and grass, he traded a nod with Panacea. The young girl was smiling slightly as she floated over them all, watching the proceedings. It was kind of awesome to see, a hooded, robed young woman in white, looking down at them all with a serene look on her face. Really pushing the angel imagery forth.

It was kind of funny how much of a contrast she was with her teacher. Instead of floating, Gohan was on the ground, and instead of wearing pristine white robes, his armor was torn apart and dirty, with parts of it melted against his skin.

When Assault stepped next to him, Gohan was looking over at New Wave with a... complicated, look on his face. "You all right, Bro?"

"No," Gohan said, leaving Assault to blink at the blunt response. "What's up?"

"Uh..." Caught flat-footed, it took a moment for Assault to remember why he'd come over. "Right. So some of the PRT guys found about five guys in an alley. Three Merchants and two ABB, apparently duking it out on their way here. But they were found unconscious. With proof of a Parahuman being the guy who did it."

Gohan blinked, finally turning to meet eyes with his friend. "Really? Who did it?"

"From the evidence? Someone who can use bug venom. They finished them off with a metal pole, but there's a whole lot of bug sting all over the guys. No deaths, but they must have felt pretty guilty. Left a note with a list of all the bugs that the venom came from and- Why are you grinning like that?"

Gohan had the widest damn smile Assault had ever seen on his face. "Dude... I am so damn happy right now!" He laughed. "God dude, I just... sometimes, you just can't predict what your actions will cause. And we ended up with a new superhero on streets."  
Assault smirked. "Well, we still need to find this guy. Unregistered and all."

"Or girl," Gohan said with a smirk. "Mind if I run over to Headquarters?"

"I think that's a good idea. Piggot will want to debrief us."

"Well, it'll be easier to debrief me then usual." Gohan indicated his destroyed clothes with a smirk.

"Oh, dude..." Assault winced. "You and Piggot. God, that is just a horrid image."

Gohan zoomed off with a chuckle, leaving his friend to laugh as well.

 _Mack:_

When Mack Nakamora joined the ABB, it had been out of necessity. At a school like Winslow, being in a gang was a necessity if you were Asian. Otherwise, Empire guys would come after you, and the ABB would be just as bad, calling you a 'race traitor'.

Nevermind that being a gangster in general tended to suck.

Still. He was making good money, he was relatively safe as just another guy in the gang, and even frequent brawls with the Empire, Merchants, cops, and PRT wasn't a big deal.

At least, it didn't used to be.

"What the hell is going on today!?" Mack screamed as a shelf behind him exploded.

He was running through a warehouse. Blades of steel seemed to pop out all over the room. A torn apart boat was being used as cover by some Merchants. Mack fired blindly at them as he ran past, trying not to piss himself.

He accidentally stepped on a panel on light and found himself flying out of the warehouse.

"Shiiiiit!"

The poor teenager landed hard, rolling quickly to his feet. Some gritty sand dug through his t-shirt to scratch lines into his back, but it was easy to ignore.

Mack ran. As screams erupted, bullets flew, and gods, for Mack now knew the truth of parahumans, did battle, he ran for his life.

Suddenly he was running down an alley. When he got to a crossroad with two separate directions, he looked down the left street. A woman wearing a coat and a fedora stepped out of a door. Mack quickly turned to go the other way. He ran, trying to escape to live, to-

Sun Wukong and Lung flew overhead. And Mack stared.

An armored warrior floating on air. A dragon of steel erupting in flame.

And now he understood. The reason he ran. The reason he was scared. The reason he'd even joined the ABB.

All his life, Mack wanted to run. To escape. To be safe.

And now, as he stared up at the screaming, roaring beings of myth, Mack felt himself break. There was no safety in a world of gods. Only death.

"Only death."

Suddenly, he wasn't there anymore. He was in a world of red. And there was something. A hole, in time and-

When Mack returned, he slammed a palm on the ground.

A hole in the world opened beneath him, and he fell into it. Unnoticed, the hole closed.

Only the woman in the fedora knew what had happened.

 _Crane:_

In a small room, a woman moved. She danced. An arm split the air, lethal speed combined with beautiful grace. A step to the right, a simple move meant to both dodge and re-position for a new attack. A small twist of the arm, which would have jammed her elbow into a throat.

For all her crimes, for all the horror she'd caused, no one would claim that Crane the Harmonious was the greatest practitioner of martial arts in the world.

It would have taken a certain amount of insight to see the emotions held in those graceful blows. And yet, as Crane moved, a voice spoke.

"You are troubled."

Crane did not look at the speaker. If she had, she would have seen a seemingly young teen, with green eyes and blonde hair.

"I am."

"Is it the Monkey King?"

Crane slowly moved her arms, allowing herself a moment to think. "Yes... and no."

Glaistig Uaine frowned. "Not a fae, as I know them. Something more, and less."

"...I have felt power within me, as of late." Crane slowly shifted her stance. "Something more than the abilities I was already gifted with." Glaistig didn't speak, only watching. "I did not understand it. But Sun Wukong... I believe he may hold the answer."

"...Do you wish to meet him?"

Crane finally looked at Glaistig. The two supervillains, in a small room of a large Birdcage, seemed to pass something to each other in that look.

Slowly, Crane nodded.


	21. Chapter 21

Panacea and I stared as Bob showed me a bright blue floating above the palm of his hand. He was struggling, and the light was flickering in and out. But it was there. Ki.

We stood together in Piggot's office. The others, Assault, Miss Militia, Glory Girl, Velocity, and Armsmaster, stood behind us, while Bob was in front of Piggot's desk as she watched.

"How much?" I asked Panacea. While my new power boost had increased my abilities, she was still my better in ki sensing.

"Less than Vicky, more than Armsmaster."

"Wait, you mean I can do that too?" Glory Girl asked as she watched on curiously.

"Technically any human with a martial arts background and tons of willpower can," I said as Bob released the energy. He staggered back, nearly falling, but Velocity sped forward to catch him. "At least, that's the theory."

"Consider the theory confirmed." Piggot turned her eyes to me, her chubby face set into a glare. "Today has me worried and elated. On the one hand, the five of you were involved in one of the largest busts we've had in a very long time. Lung is now in a cell, with foam containment guns pointed at him. The highest ranking members of the Merchants are imprisoned. And while Kaiser still roams free, we've got Hookwolf and Rune."

Piggot smirked. "Good work."

We all glanced at each other, shocked. "Uh... thank you?" Assault tried. "Am I... saying that right?"

Piggot's smirk fell away. "However, there are two things. First," she looked at me, eyes hard as katchin. "I heard about how you got injured. I expect I don't need to tell you this, as I'm sure your beating yourself up about all ready. But I'll say it anyway. The next time you fight? End it. No one liners, no long speeches, no monologuing. Do your job. Leave the theatrics and showboating to television. Because if I hear you got as injured as you did against Lung because you became obsessed with talking him to death, I'll make sure the only food you get for the next week will be bland protien bars."

I gasped. Later I'd laugh at how seriously I took the threat. But dang it, the three things I cared about thanks to my Saiyan blood were fighting, good food, and breaded eggs. Uh, I mean, fighting while eating good food. I nodded quickly even while Assault chuckled behind me.

"Second, this ki mess." Piggot looked over at Bob, who looked both exhausted and sad. "Bob somehow managed to develop this ability on his own. This could be a huge crisis. We need to look into it further. Did he gain this from mere proximity to you? Did it just activate from his training? Could others in the world develop the same power? Or is your presence making it appear in our city on its own?"

I had to agree with her. A world of ki users sounds cool on paper. But for every Gohan, Goku, and Krillin, there's a dozen Mercenary Taos. Bad people weren't created by shards alone after all. Anyone with a rough childhood knows how close to the edge all people are to becoming someone else.

I'm a Saiyan after all. And in the end, there were more stories of the evil Saiyan race then there are of good ones.

"I agree." I stepped forward, turning to look at everyone. "Ki is one of the most powerful things in existence. It's pure life energy. Potentially infinite."

"How do you know that?" Armsmaster asked.

"I just do." Not a lie, and not a fact. Hopefully enough to fool his lie detection tech. "But I can tell you one thing. Any person with the will to do it can eventually become as strong as I am. And even stronger than that. Willpower is something that anyone can have a heck of a lot of."

I let that sink in for a moment before continuing. "So. What should we do?"

Piggot frowned. "I'd suggest treating them the same as any parahuman."

I barked out a laugh. "That won't work. Ki users won't be people who've triggered. Just any person in the world with athletic ability. A soldier, housewife, and teenager are all just as capable of developing this as anyone else in the world. They just need the will and ability to fight."

"You're saying that this could be a new rise of Parahumans?" Piggot's pinched face told me how she felt about that.

"Not quite," I pointed at Bob and Panacea. "Amy was a superhero long before meeting me. She has unbelievable discipline. Bob had the body of an Olympian, and degrees in fields I've never heard of. Both had plenty of willpower. And they only learned when I joined them. But, if someone is lucky enough..."

"Will they be capable of the same growth as you?" Armsmaster asked.

"No. Nowhere near as fast. My body is built to use ki, to produce it like an engine." I frowned then, looking at everyone. "Okay, seriously. Why are you guys taking me at face value right now?"

"We aren't," Armsmaster said simply. "But right now, you're the only person whose powers allow any insight into this. While it does sound... odd-"

"Crazy more like," Velocity mumbled.

"The sheer possibility is enough for us to listen." Armsmaster continued. "The facts require us to look at all insights. Dr. Stone and Panacea are both exhibiting abilities neither has any reason to. Even if you turn out to be wrong, I'd rather hear all theories." He frowned. "That said, you probably are wrong."

"You sweetheart you," I responded flatly.

"Enough," Piggot interjected. "We need to start testing. Wukong. You'll start training Bob. We'll also have our scientists choose some candidates for testing."

"I can help coordinate the testing?" Bob suggested.

"No," Piggot's eyes narrowed. "As it is, you are one of the test subjects, as is Panacea. We'll need to more Parahuman's as well."

I frowned. "You aren't about to chain us up in a room are you?" She frowned right back at me. She was better at it. "Can't we get some time to celebrate? I feel like we got a big win today. We caught Lung! And Hookwolf! Two of the most dangerous changers in the city. Plus the Merchants I guess."

"Right!?" Glory Girl said with a grin. "Lets party!"

"Pizza," Assault said sagely, crossing his arms. "This requires pizza and soda."

"And spaghetti. And burgers. And a huge amount of salad. And-"

As I continued to mumble the food I wanted, Miss Militia stepped forward with a sigh. "Ma'am, while I feel they could more... respectful, in their request, I do agree that this was a win today. Maybe it would be good to let them enjoy the moment?"

Piggot stared at us. I grabbed Assault and Panacea, pulling them alongside me as I did my best puppy eyes. Assault followed suit. Panacea rolled her eyes.

It was enough. Piggot finally nodded with a sigh. "Fine. Go. I'll have our scientists work up a program to study this. Armsmaster?"

"I'll aid them." He responded easily. "I've already come up with a prototype to sense ki. This program will allow me to refine it further."

"Very well." Piggot eyed us. "Dismissed."

"We'll meet in the training room." Assault said. "I just need to order the pizza. How about you two? You need to call your parents?"

Panacea nodded as Glory Girl chatted with Velocity further down the hallway we all stood in. Armsmaster had left.

"Yes," she sighed. "Though I don't think she'll let us." She gave me a look.

"I know." I nodded at my student. "Don't worry. I'll party enough for us both."

She didn't laugh, but managed a sad smile. She walked off to join Vicky. Assault looked at me, then nodded, leaving to order the food. I turned and walked towards the training room, ignoring the woman walking by me.

Body-Read let me know what she was thinking however. And when Miss Militia finally spoke, I know what she'd say.

"It isn't your fault," she said.

"It is," I responded. "If it wasn't for me, ki would never be a thing."

"You can't know that." Miss Militia sped up a bit to catch up with me as I spun around a corner. "Gohan, you can't control the world. How do you know this ki thing isn't just a natural phenomena. Hell, even if it is because of your abilities, it's not like it's your fault."

I held back a scoff. Of course it was my wasn't my fault. It was the fault of whatever had dropped me into this world. They'd left me in a Saiyan body, then somehow sent ki into every person in this universe. Or on the other hand, somehow changed ki into something more similar to DBZ. After all, my home universe had buddhist monks, people who could supposedly use ki to attain superhuman feats.

Either way, my mere existence was somehow connected to ki. And that wasn't all.

"Did Panacea tell you that Lung almost killed me?"

I looked over at her. Miss Militia was still striding forward confidently, but I could read a bit of sadness in the set of her shoulders. "Yes. You okay?"

"No," I said, a dark filling me. "I was stupid. I decided lecturing Lung was a good idea, when I should have beaten him like a rented drum and covered him in six feet of containment foam."

"Yeah, you should have," Miss Militia gave me a smirk. "Stupid of you not to."

Even with all my anger, I still managed a reluctant chuckle. "Either way, I need to train. I need to be ready for what comes next."

"And what is that?"

I stopped. She took a few more steps, turning to look at me. I met her eyes over her American flag scarf. She was smiling just a bit. I loved that smile.

"I want to kill an Endbringer."

Her smile froze. Pity that. It made her sort of intimidating.

After a few hours of pizza and drinks, I worked. I grabbed my laptop, sat down in the corner of my room, and started to write.

I needed a new training plan. I needed to get a handle on whatever the Zenkai boost had given me, and I needed to get even stronger. And, last but not least, I needed to figure out how to make true ki techniques.

No. Actually, I needed to go a step further.

I needed to go Super Saiyan.

And then, there were two other problems.

First, I wanted to find and speak with Taylor. Easy enough. A quick internet search led me to Danny, and his contact info was public thanks to his position in the union. I had to be careful to use searches that weren't too suspicious of course, considering that Dragon could check my history and might ask odd questions. Easy enough though. I went from 'Brockton landmarks', to 'Boat Graveyard', to Danny Hebert. Not even six degrees of separation. Then again, I also wanted to get a message from the Undersiders. I may not truly need them, but they were still numbers. And numbers have value in any war.

Second, something was coming.

I could feel it in the air. A threat was circling the water, headed for me. I had no idea why I felt that. Hell, it could have been the normal Worm craziness. But even as I sat there, typing out a plan, I knew that someone, or something, was planning to kill me and mine.

But who?

In a motel on fire, a young girl sneezed. She blinked, confused, before shrugging and returning to her work. The flesh under her fingers twitched with every press of the sewing needle as she hummed a cute tune, her blonde hair swinging.

As she worked on the person before her, the sounds of cackling laugh echoed around her. The smell of blood and ash filled the air.

The next day, people would find the horrific remains of the roadside motel, and the people who'd once rested and worked with. Until then, a little girl created her next artpiece.

"Is this place?" Assault asked me. We stood in a suburban neighborhood, looking at one house in particular. He was on his motorcycle, I had run, and we were both dressed in our costumes.

In my case, I used a copy of my destroyed armor, since the newest iteration was still being created. This version's chest was more of a skintight spandex thing, but still pretty tough. Showed a lot more of my body then I wanted it too though.

"According to his coworkers," I looked over at my friend. "Dude, why didn't they believe me over the phone?"

"Because you called them saying, and I quote, 'hi, I'm the superhero Sun Wukong, I wanted to ask your boss something,'" Assault said with a smirk.

"So the problem is?" I quipped. As I did so, my eyes didn't leave the house.

"Bro, are you nervous?" Assault leaned back in his motorcycle seat, crossing his arms as a shit-eating grin grew on his face.

"No!" I winced.

"Riiiiight."

His skepticism was well-earned. I really was nervous.

I looked over at him. "Assault... when I asked Piggot about this, why'd you volunteer?"

He blinked. "Well... cause you're my friend. Why else?"

For some reason, that calmed me. I walked forward. Across the sidewalk. Up the steps, avoiding the faulty one. And up to the door. I knocked, and tried to hold back my excitement.

"I've got it!" A voice, female, called out from inside. My breath quickened, and I quickly entered a meditative state, trying to relax again. Footsteps came up to the door. Moments later, the door open.

She was tall. Her hair was long, black, and curly falling over skinny shoulders. Her lips were thin. She was wearing a pair of glasses, sweatpants, and a brown hooded sweatshirt over a green t-shirt.

We stared at each other for a moment, probably feeling the same sort of awe. The awe you feel when meeting someone who is not only famous, but also famous for _good_ reasons.

"Uh... hi," I said softly.

"Urk," she said back. For some reason, her eyes kept flickering down at my skin-tight suit.

"Taylor?" A man's voice said from deeper in the house. "Who... urk."

Like daughter, like father.

"Hello, sir." I said respectfully. "I'm Sun Wukong. I was hoping to speak with you?"

"I uh..." The pair of them shared a look before he spoke again. "Sure?"


	22. Chapter 22

"You want some water?"

"Yes please."

Taylor moved to the refrigerator and opened it.

I sat at the table with Danny. Their kitchen reminded me of mine when I lived in Hayward. It had the same homey feel to it. Lived in, you know.

It suddenly struck me how weird this was. How often had I read a story where some superhero met Taylor in her kitchen? Miss Militia, Armsmaster, Legend, and Alexandria, had all ended up meeting her at some point in a fanfic. Odd to be the Protectorate superhero in the Hebert household. I tried not to look nervous, projecting the image of a hero as best as I could.

It was ridiculous to be nervous, but I knew why I was. Taylor was famous. Maybe not in her world, but in mine? She was loved, hated, pitied, and much more. Her character was analyzed. If my theory was true, than in many multiverses she was a hero the equal of many others, and in some she was a villain equal to the worst in history. She was a main character. Just like Aang, Usagi, Naruto, Katniss, Harry Potter/Dresden, Shirou, Madoka, Shinji, Sherlock, Conan. She had started an online phenomenon.

And, as she turned with a shy smile to give me the glass, she was also a teenage girl with a lot of growing up to do.

She was so cute, like a tiger cub. Sure, I knew that there was a very dangerous animal hiding beneath, one that any human has. But she was also so oddly shy right then, and trying so hard not to be.

I pushed the thought aside. Business time.

"Mr. Hebert, my codename is Sun Wukong," I began.

"I know," Danny, who looked nervous but not scared, smiled just a bit. "You were on the news the other day."

"I was?" Huh. Well, that sort of made sense. I hadn't even thought about that. "Well, that's not important. I came here to try and speak with you about the Boat Graveyard." Danny's eyes shaded over slightly, so I spoke faster. From what little I was sure of, I knew Danny was used to getting stonewalled when it came to cleaning the Boat Graveyard, so I needed to push forward before his walls raised up. "I'd like to extend an offer from the PRT and myself. We want to help clean the place out and start using it as a training ground."

Danny frowned. I took a moment to Body-Read him, and was surprised. The guy was... strong. Not physically, though I could easily tell he was stronger than his frame. I mean, he had some real good mental strength. Various twitchs in his face, in the set of shoulder, in the way he slightly shifted his body, all indicated a deep thought process, as well as a willingness to push for... something. What it came down to was this. Danny Hebert knew what I wanted, and he was willing to fight for his if I tried to take it from him. He wasn't scared, but I could tell from the instinctive 'fight or flight' muscle twitches that he was acknowledging mine and the PRT's strength, but also willing to fight us if we tried to screw him over.

Kinda badass, in a small way. Sure, I'd fought Lung yesterday. But I'd once been a lot like Danny, a guy just trying to get by in the world, and I couldn't remember being so willing to fight. Especially because he was so tired. Tired of fighting, but still willing to push on.

Well, time to let him rest. "After some research, I asked the Director to hire the Dockworkers Union as our clean up crew, followed by maintenance." Danny blinked in surprise and I hurried to continue. "From the little I understand, I know that part of the problem with the city is that we don't have a working ferry, what with the mayor's refusal to have the Docks rebuilt. If we can fix things up, and set up a training camp right next to the ferry, we can double up on things. First, we get the place cleaned up and get a working ferry going. If we do the work right, we can rebuild the import and export business. Second, we build the training camp."

"You keep saying that," Danny said softly. "Training camp. What does that mean?"

I didn't look at Taylor. "We're building a training camp for superheroes."

Taylor sucked in a breath.

"It's all inclusive. Anyone with the will can come and train with us, after a vetting process of course," I leaned forward. "See, I'm able to teach others to replicate my own abilities on their own, with both normal humans and parahumans able to learn. We're planning to start the training camp in order to help both our own people and teach parahumans how to control their abilities. That's why I choose the Boat Graveyard, sir. If people know that place is safe, and that the ferry has a large number of budding superhuman fighters nearby ready to defend it, then we negate the Mayor's argument that having a ferry will allow gangsters access to the richer downtown area," I leaned back in my seat. "We can even set it up as a bodyguarding thing as part of the training."

"That's my basic idea anyways. If we can work together, using the PRT's resources and your experience, we can kill a heck of a lot of birds with one... uh, one stone."

The reason I'd stumbled was that an ant was crawling on the table. As I watched, it walked towards me. It got to my hand, stopping briefly. Then, it crawled up and onto the back of my hand. I brushed it quickly off, watching as it landed on the table, shook itself, and crawled away.

My eyes went to Taylor, but she was looking at her dad. Huh. Maybe it was a normal ant?

Shit, I really wished I could tell what she was thinking.

-

 _Taylor_

When Sun Wukong raised his arms, his biceps seemed to explode. It was really distracting.

I shook my head, trying to focus on what was happening, but part of me felt like a little kid all of a sudden. A superhero, a member of the Protectorate, was sitting at my kitchen! How crazy was that?

He was weird too. Like, the way he moved. I mean, I knew he was at least superhumanly fast, but when I'd given him water earlier I noticed that he was almost... graceful about it. Something in the way he moved made him seem like he was always at superspeed, even when he was moving normally. I felt like a snail watching a turtle move.

And then there was the reason he'd come. My dad had been looking for a way to help the Dockworkers Union for years. And now, this superhero had come down with the perfect solution.

And oh man, a training camp so people could get Sun Wukong's superpowers!? Don't get me wrong, I was actually finding my bug powers really useful. The other day I'd been able to beat down a whole bunch of assholes while my bugs stung and blinded them. My powers weren't great, but they were useful.

Sun Wukong though, was an Alexandria package with blaster powers. That was the dream. When people imagine getting superpowers, they didn't picture me with my tiny muscles and bug powers, they pictured Sun Wukong with his big muscles, lasers, and super-strength.

But my dad looked a bit suspicious. I couldn't blame him.

"Why, exactly, did you come to me?" Dad asked softly.

"Because I don't want this to turn into a fake PR stunt," Sun Wukong said, his eyes narrowing. "I'm from a shit town man. I can't tell you often a politician or business man made some token effort to repair things just to let it fall apart, simply to get good press. I trust Director Piggot to do this, and I'm going to clean the Boat Graveyard with my bare hands anyways. But I want people who are dedicated to making this happen. I want to force this. We _need_ Brockton to be stronger. And this, the training camp, the ferry, the graveyard and Docks getting cleaned, they'll do a lot more than me just punching anyone who looks at me funny."

Then he smiled a bit sheepishly. "Plus uh, I don't know a lot about this sort of thing. You know, organizing jobs and what not. I could use some help with that."

Dad grinned. "So, you just want me to do all the real work."

"Hey, I'm the one whose going to be juggling twenty tons of steel everyday," Sun Wukong snarked. "I just want you to do paperwork," he winced. "So, yeah, I want you to do the real work."

My dad's smile widened. "Well, I'd need to speak to the guys. If you're on the up and up... we might be able to figure something out."

Sun Wukong extended a hand, and my dad shook it. I took a moment to smile. I felt like I was looking at something _important_. This... this was superhero work. This was someone helping for the sake of it, to make the world better.

This is what I wanted to do one day.

"Okay, well I have a meeting to get to now," Sun Wukong said once he let go of dad's hand. "A vigilante girl is meeting me soon. We're actually meeting on the rooftop of that apartment building nearby in about thirty minutes."

"Oh," dad said. I blinked, now a bit interested. Hell, this was an inside look at the way superheroes worked after all. "Who is it?"

"A new parahuman," Sun Wukong continued. "A bug user."

My insides went cold.

"I'm supposed to be meeting her in a bit, talk to her about the hero business. She recently took down a group of thugs, and I feel like she'd be a good addition to the Wards as well as the training camp," he turned to look at me. As our eyes met, I knew that he knew. He looked back at my dad."What do you think? I'm not so good with teenage girls, but maybe she'll meet me and talk about this stuff?"

Dad laughed as I tried not to have a heart attack. "Hey, I'm no expert either. I'm just doing my best to raise one."

Sun Wukong chuckled. "Well, she seems nice enough." He held out his hand, and I shook it. His massive palm seemed to surround me with a comforting strength, and his smile was kind. "Hope to see you soon."

He left. Dad sighed, looking a bit overwhelmed. "I... I guess I need to get the guys together. If this is legit..." He trailed off, thoughtful as he walked over to the phone. I don't think he noticed me leave to go to the basement.

-

 _Gohan_

I was floating high above Taylor's house as she sneaked out. I watched carefully as she ran, carrying a backpack as she hit the sidewalk and ran towards the building I'd indicated. I absentmindedly followed her, watching as she ran into a public bathroom. Soon, she left in her costume.

Just like in the fanart I'd seen. A full suit of armor made of black 'cloth', which I knew was actually spider silk. She got to the fire escape and climbed towards the top.

I took a moment to grab a protein bar out of my pocket and began to eat, watching silently as she climbed. By the time she got up, I was already done.

I took a moment to think about what I wanted to say as I floated there. Hell, I didn't even know why I'd decided to speak to her. Maybe it was a bit of my impulsive Saiyan brain pushing my human need to analyze things aside, but I might as well roll with it.

That said, I suddenly realized I was using my powers to spy on a minor, which was way too close to the Twilight novels for my tastes.

As she got to the roof, I floated down, putting away the wrapper from my protein bar in a pocket. I thought about what the hell I was doing.

I mean... Taylor wasn't necessary. It isn't cruel to say that. Lots of people aren't, in the strictest sense, necessary to my plan. I wasn't going to cry if I didn't have a produce seller helping me save the world. And Taylor was, in the long run, not necessary. She had the potential to become Khepri. To become the being that would be able to control parahumans like the fingers of her hand. The power was... impressive. But it required a hell of a lot of things to happen juuuuuust right. And more importantly, like hell was I going to force that power on her. And her current powers were useful, but not 'Kill Scion' useful. Sure, she had a hell of a lot of stubborn, insane, over the top willpower, enough that she'd taken down Lung, a feat I'd only duplicated with enough power to shatter cities. But that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

But I wanted to help her. In the end, that was all I really needed. I took a moment to wonder if that was because of my Saiyan side. I couldn't see Goku or Vegeta second-guessing themselves on a choice like this after all.

Oh well. I landed in full view of Taylor, and waved. "What's up?"

Taylor stared at me as my feet hit the floor and I began to walk towards her. "Um... hi?"

I stopped in front of her. "So... you come up with a name yet?"

Her hair flung about with the shake of her head. She seemed nervous. I smiled, trying to calm her. She seemed to take heart in that. While I couldn't see her face, her body language, the combination of nervousness, excitement, anticipation, and anger in her was clear. Granted, it didn't mean I understood _why_ she was feeling that way, but it was there.

"How did you know?" she asked. "That I was a parahuman?"

I shrugged. "It's one of my powers. I can sometimes sense a persons powers and how they work. It's a bit hit and miss, but it's something I developed recently."

A bit of anger seemed to take over her other emotions. "So were you lying to my dad? Did you just come here for me?"

I smirked. "No. I mean, on the scale of importance, the revitalization of an city and the building of a parahuman force of superheroes is a little high. I only extended the offer because you seem like a good kid, and I'd like to see if you want to join the Wards."

She stared at me, apparently hesitant. I kinda knew why. I mean, I wasn't that familiar with her real reasons, but I knew from the fanfics that Taylor had wanted to build herself up as a superhero before joining the Protectorate. Or something? Damnit, once again my failed understanding of the books was getting in my way.

Still, I was running at super-speed. Even as she prepared to say no, or to explain she had other plans, to try and convince me something else could be done, I was speaking. "Before that, what do you say to me and you running a quick patrol? Something simple? Just to try and get to know each other?"

The girl who would, in another universe, become a great villain and hero based more on luck and sheer guts than anything, nodded after a bit of silence.

"Okay then," I waved out at the city. "Lead on."

She seemed surprised at that. "Ah, shouldn't you?"

I grinned. "I want to see what you want to do. Don't worry, this isn't an evaluation. We'll travel together, see who we can help, and then we can decide whats next, okay?"

Taylor seemed to freeze at that, but nodded again after a bit of indecision. "Okay well... I was going to go to the Merchant territory?

I nodded, letting her move forward.

Time to hero up.


	23. Chapter 23 Interlude

_Taylor:_

"You're a jerk."

Sun Wukong sighed. "Dude, it wasn't on purpose."

"The betrayal... I thought we were friends."

Sun Wukong sighed once more. "Aren't you supposed to be a grown adult or something?"

"I was, and then my friend acted like a meany pants."

"...You done?"

Assault took a moment to think before nodding. "You're an asshole."

Sun Wukong sighed for a third time as I stared at the pair of men with a combination of amusement and a distinct bit of disappointment while we walked down the street together. "I didn't 'forget' about you, I ran to get you first thing."

"You met her without me!" Assault frowned under his mask as we walked down the empty street. "I've been doing this for years, why do you get to meet new heroes first?"

"Because it was my turn?" Sun Wukong turned to eye Assault. "Don't bitch, bitch."

Assault growled. "I will punch you in the face."

"No foreplay in public."

Assault growled again.

I stared at the pair, trying to figure how I felt. On the one hand, I was walking the streets of Brockton in daylight, dressed in my superhero gear, with two full fledged superheroes.

On the other hand, they were apparently filled with more testosterone than a boys locker room.

I tried my best to simply enjoy the moment. Right then we were patrolling a part of the city the Merchants had once controlled. According to Assault, the almost total collapse of their leading parahumans had made the Merchant's desperate, and the fact the other gangs also had to save face after so many of their own were also arrested. The ABB might have been worse off though. Lung had been their premiere parahuman. Now they only had Oni Lee. Lung had been enough for the ABB to stand against every other gang, but with him gone, they were weak.

As of yesterday, the most powerful gang in Brockton Bay was now the Empire, and even they had lost a few guys.

So now we were making sure things would be safe in the aftermath.

Too bad it came with all the machismo I could handle. Granted, I still felt like we were doing a lot. My swarm let me sense everything around us (though they seemed more energetic today, and my range felt wider for some reason), so I could find problems in seconds. And Sun Wukong and Assault were just... wow. They were really good.

As we walked, one of the spiders in my range caught sight of something. I sent a fly over to the alley the spider was in, and saw through its eyes that two Merchant thugs had cornered a guy with a pair of knives, and were shaking him down.

"We have two guys over in an alley there."

Sun Wukong nodded, and in a move I was still getting used to, he _leaped_ into the air, floated for a moment, then shot down at the alley I'd pointed out. Through the eyes of a fly and a spider, I saw a blur knock out both Merchants before Sun Wukong appeared. He spoke to the guy for a moment, making sure he was okay, then picked up the Merchants and disappeared.

"How fast is he?" I asked Assault curiously.

The superhero shrugged. "Well, before he just a little slower than Velocity. Now though, he got a recent power boost, so he could be a whole lot faster. We'll be testing that."

"Hopefully without cutting into my training," I jumped at the sound of Wukong's voice. He came up behind me, grinning. "Anyways, seems like things are pretty quiet. Maybe this will be a normal patrol?"

Then he froze, looking around carefully. Nothing happened, but I focused on my bugs, trying to find out why he was suddenly worried. After a moment, he relaxed.

"Guess we're fi-"

As an explosion went off in the distance, Wukong and Assault sighed as I spun around.

"Dude," Assault said.

"Yeah, I ended up tempting fate," Wukong leaned over and lifted me into his arms, and I squeaked in shock. I tried my best not to touch him as picked up Assault as well, lifting us both into the air. "Come on! Lets kick some ass!"

PHO Interlude:

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[B] Topic: Son Wukong Power Rating[/B]

[B]In: Boards ► New ► Events ► America ► Brockton Bay[/B]

[B]Bagrat[/B] (Original Poster) (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)

Posted on March 7, 2011:

All right ladies and gentlemen, the Monkey God of Fitness now has a real codename, and some stats for all of us to discuss. Here's the breakdown.

Brute: 7

Blaster: 5

Mover: 7

Thinker: 1

Trump: 1

Changer: 10

According to both the official report and my own sources, he's got the typical Alexandria package of flight, durability, and super-strength. He's also able to run at super-speed, can sense others around him, and can blast out energy.

Damn. Guy got a really good set of powers, but that's the tip of the iceberg.

His Changer rating is because he can train himself to become even stronger, faster, and more powerful, which is just holy shit overpowered. This means his current rating will be even more powerful one day! His Trump rating is a bit of a mystery though, since they seem to be keeping full details under wraps. As things go, he's got more than enough powers as is. Thoughts?

[B](Showing Page 1 of 1)[/B]

[INDENT]

[B]► Ekul[/B]

Replied on March 7, 2011:

Damn, is that really all of his powers? Someone won the lottery. I'd say his Changer rating is the most important though. He's defiantly able to get to Triumverate level in a few years right?

[B]► Brocktonite03[/B] (Veteran Member)

Replied on March 7, 2011:

I'm wondering about that Trump rating. Didn't we hear rumors he could pass on his powers? I mean, we have been hearing about Panacea all of a sudden flying around and shooting laser blasts.

[B]► JediOfDoom[/B] (Cape Groupie)

Replied on March 7, 2011:

Wait, his codename is Sun Wukong? Like the Monkey God? So... the PRT is for sure reading these forums for name ideas right?

[B]► Vista[/B] (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied on March 7, 2011:

JediOfDoom He choose it, out of respect for the cultures where he gets most of his martial arts from. From what he told me, he heard a lot of legends about Son Wukong as a kid, and he wants to honor that. Although he also says Son Wukong could have been an alien...

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[B] Topic: LUNG IS DONE![/B]

[B]In: Boards ► New ► Events ► America ► Brockton Bay[/B]

[B]Bagrat[/B] (Original Poster) (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)

Posted on March 8, 2011:

Holy shit, Brockton Bay is the place to be for crazy cape news now! Seriously look at this shit!

watch?v=8kwz1rKXQlE

We've got Glory Girl, Panacea, Assault, Miss Militia, Sun Wukong the newbie, and Velocity on one side. The entirety of the Empire Eighty-Eight on another. The entire Merchants crew doing their best to join in. And Lung himself taking the field with Oni Lee.

It was insane. Explosions and powers, gangsters duking it out, heroes and villains dueling.

The usual end to this would have been sad. To be honest, I usually wouldn't be this stoked. I've been on this site a while. I know the way these fights are, how many people can get hurt.

Instead, the Protectorate [I]Won![I]

First, Sun Wukong fought Hookwolf, Rune, Skidmark, and Squealer (he tore THROUGH her truck to get to her). Rune and Hookwolf tried to escape, but Velocity got them, while Squealer was finally taken out by Miss Militia. Glory Girl cleaned up Fenja and Menja after Sun Wukong left them to fight Lung.

And now we have the perfect part of the fight. Lung vs Sun Wukong. I tried my best to make the video out of a compilation of clips from any camera nearby, and it was epic.

One problem though. I included a clip I found from some dumbass who calls himself 'AlphaMale245'. The idiot got about two feet from a fight between two Brute/Blasters in the midst of combat, and had to be saved by Sun Wukong, whose FREAKING SPINE WAS EXPOSED AFTERWARDS.

Guys, I know it's tempting to get in close when filming these things. But Alpha nearly got himself and Sun Wukong killed because of that dumbass move. Be safe, and if you do feel the need to film this stuff, do it from a few blocks away!

Anyways, Panacea later healed him, which somehow made a big blue aura appear around him (part of his blaster powers maybe?) and he went on to deliver the sort of beatdown you usually see Lung deliver on the man himself.

So, in summary. THe Protectorate arrested dozens of gangsters, and a few of the most dangerous capes in all of Brockton Bay. It's been an awesome week guys.

[B](Showing Page 1 of 1)[/B]

[INDENT]

[B]► Jandice[/B]

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Yes! Everyone in the Bay has been talking about this since the news came out! Gangsters have been getting arrested like crazy lately. If you look in the video, Assault, Velocity, and Miss Militia were putting them down like crazy! It's been a great week!

[B]► Reave[/B] (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Yeah, I was on sight. Cops picked up the gangsters, we took care of the parahumans. I think it's the most we've ever picked up since I started this job. I ended up personally spraying Lung's passed out body with enough foam to hold Alexandria. That was satisfying as hell.

[B]► TheRiseComes[/B] (Banned)

Replied on March 8, 2011:

[I]This comment was deleted due to racist and inflammatory remarks. Enjoy your ban. -Tin Mother/.[I]

[B]► Hye[/B] (Veteran Member)

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Huh, didn't take long for the racism to come out. Anyways, this is really good news for Brockton Bay, but I can't help but be worried. The gangs are sure to try and do something to retaliate, and the Empire has a rep for getting their guys out of prison.

[B]► MadGreenSon[/B] (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member) (Constant Awesome)

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Hye, Yeah, I can see where you're coming from, but I don't think we have to worry too much about that compared to usual. This is one of the bigger arrests in the past few years, and the PR alone means the PRT will be fighting to hold on to the guys. Even if the gangs try to retaliate, it would be a hell of a fight.

[B]► Sithking Zero[/B] (High Priest of the First Church of The Deputy)

Replied on March 8, 2011:

MadGreenSon While I am really happy about how many people got arrested, I have to agree with Hye about being worried. I think the PRT and Protectorate is going to hold on to their lead, but it will also lead to some serious fighting.

That said, they do have a few advantages now. So I'm worried, but also hopeful.

Are they sending Lung to the Bird Cage?

[B]► Bagrat[/B] (Original Poster) (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Sithking Zero I share your cautious optimism. Also, I called in one of my contacts, and he confirmed that more than a few of the captured parahumans are headed to the cage. He couldn't say which ones, but considering Lungs sheer power, I'd say he's a definite one. I wonder which of the others though. Hookwolf, Fenja, and Menja might be going in. I don't think Skidmark is dangerous enough though.

This is all conjecture however.

[B]► AlphaMale245[/B]

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Make fun of me all you want Bagrat, but my video has over twenty thousand likes.

[B]► Larekko12[/B]

Replied on March 8, 2011:

AlphaMale245 Congrats. You've discovered, like thousands before, that an idiot can get attention real easy on the internet.

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[B]AllSeeingEye *New Message*:[/B] Okay, you have our attention. When do you want to meet next?

[B]SunWukong *New Message*:[/B] You guys like pie?

 _Alexandria:_

Chief-Director Rebecca Costa-Brown stared at a file in her hand. In it was a report. The report was dry, factual, stating information collected over the past few weeks, with graphs and charts. The report was also world-shattering.

After a moment, she rose up and paced. Her mind raced. She didn't look back at the file, it's contents already imprinted on her memory with perfect clarity. She didn't look at the videos she'd been watching mere moments ago either. The images, of Sun Wukong battling Lung, Panacea flying across the sky, and Doctor Bob Stone creating a ball of light in his palm, were brought to the forefront of her memory, studied, then compared to her own knowledge.

Once done, she called out into her empty office, summoning a door of light. She stepped through, already removing her clothes. In moments, she was no longer the Chief-Director of the PRT. She was now Alexandria, one of the strongest recorded parahumans in known history.

She entered the conference room, looking around briefly. The Doctor, Eidolon, Legend, the Number Man, and Contessa, all sat around the table. They held copies of the file, and seemed to have a variety of reactions to the information held in their hands.

Contessa's face was still. Yet, Alexandria could read a hint of... confusion? Contessa was hard to read, since any reactions she gave tended to be calculated to get the room to act as she wished. But still, it was odd to see.

Eidolon was reading the files with a strange obsessiveness. He kept flipping back and forth through the pages, almost as if he was searching for something.

The Doctor and Number Man seemed almost stricken by what they were reading. Doctor was almost trembling, while Number Man was typing steadily on his computer, face a mask of concentration.

Legend, in the meantime, was a bastion of calm. His copy of the files rested peacefully before him, and he was drinking a cup of coffee with the sort of calm reserved for those truly at peace. Alexandria could never really understand that man.

"You've all read it?" she asked as she sat down.

Eidolon nodded quickly. Legend smiled.

"Yes... It's very interesting."

"Ki," the Doctor said to herself quietly. "A parahuman ability that be taught to anyone, with no drawbacks seen so far. More than that, an ability that can also be given to those who already have powers. This could be a disaster."

"Wait, what?" Legend blinked, surprised. "Disaster? How can this not be a good thing? You wanted more parahumans, now we can train them. We can turn the best humans of humanity into it's defenders, all with a reliable set of abilities."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Alexandria tapped the table as she spoke. "So far, everyone who has displayed these powers has gained them from training with Sun Wukong, or by training with him. But according to him, any person with enough physical ability might have access to this power. Even us. Even Jack Slash."

Legend sobered. "...Good point. Still, as far as we've seen, Sun Wukong is the only one who can truly train others to use these abilities. I think we should support him. If we can get ahead of the game in this-"

The Doctor shook her head. "I'm not so sure about that. Our goals call for a parahuman army, but one trained by one person? One we can't truly trust."

"Than lets trust him," Legend leaned forward. "I'm going to state this simply. We want to build a parahuman army. We have a man who has managed to increase the abilities of parahumans and normal civilians alike. He can train others to fly, have super-strength, and blast energy, all useful powers in any fight. And, as far as we've seen, he's a good person, the people he's trained have shown no side effect such as addiction or mental instability, and we have the resource to make this all easy."

Alexandria shared a glance with everyone else. "There is one problem with that... this is too good to be true."

Eidolon looked up from the files, before going to reading them.

"I agree," the Doctor said. "Sun Wukong, somehow, manifested high levels of strength and durability, flight, extremely fast speed and reflexes, a Thinker power that lets him copy any martial arts, the ability to emit energy from every part of his body, and he can increase his combat either through combat or after being healed from intense energy. And all those powers can be passed to others."

Legend frowned. "So he won the lottery?"

"While getting hit by lightning, hit by a shark, and turning into gold," the Doctor said, her voice somehow serious. The likelihood of a natural trigger getting so many powers, all of them enough to change the landscape of our plans, is astronomical. We can't trust-"

Contessa threw the files onto the table. As the others looked at her, she smiled. "Eidolon. Legend. Alexandria. You will train with him."

The room froze in shock. Contessa's smile widened. "We need an assessment. The Path says you all went to meet him, and trained with him."

Alexandria frowned. "You want us to train with a rookie hero?" she said, unable to help her distaste at the idea. Powers aside, all reports showed him as the sort of person she'd just find annoying. Not to mention she was leagues above him in strength.

"Yes," Contessa's smile faded. "He is an idiot. But he is also useful. Establish a school and train with him."

Alexandria frowned and opened her mouth. As she, Eidolon and Legend began to speak, she had a feeling this debate would last a while. Worse, that Contessa not only knew that but also knew it would end however she needed it too.

Arguing with the worlds greatest Thinker would never be fun.

 **Author's Note:**

I've ended it there since I knew some people would love, hate, or destroy me for the idea. It's why I left it open-ended. The fact is, I wanted the implication to be that Contessa said that in search of one specific outcome, and that the argument that follows will lead things to turn out that way.

One thing I'm not a huge fan in some fanfics is the idea that Contessa will somehow have her powers shut down at the sudden influence of an SI, power, or shenanigans, but I like the idea that she's smart enough to turn things on their head anyway.

But yeah, don't assume Alexandria, Eidolon, and Legend will suddenly be wearing school outfits, discussing crushes, and having nosebleeds. The whole point of the last one is to establish that Cauldron now notices Sun Wukong in full, and is thinking about him.

As for the rest, Taylor, Gohan, and Assault are clearly going to be this stories Trinity, much like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, or Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. It's clear, right? (Just a joke folks.) They'll be fighting briefly in the next chapter, with more stuff from Taylor's perspective, and Shadow Stalker and her meeting with masks on.

Finally, we have Pho... I don't know how I did with those. Just let me know how I did? Later ya'll.


End file.
